


Her Younger Sister

by Morbid1Curiosity



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, F/F, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Ladybug - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 63,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21775246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morbid1Curiosity/pseuds/Morbid1Curiosity
Summary: [Modern AU]Blake was living her life peacefully. Things were going nice and slow for her, which she never complained about. Second-year in college, her own place to call home and a best friend, Yang. It was that day where everything changed. The day she met her younger sister.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose
Comments: 72
Kudos: 253





	1. Meeting her younger sister

Blake fixed her bag. It was a simple over your shoulder bag, nothing special or fancy. The bag was being a nuisance for a long time now and while she got used to having to fix it constantly whenever she walked, it didn't stop from annoying her. The issue? The strap loosened up, making the bag end up extremely low, next to her leg. That, for some reason, made the bag constantly shift forward and thus made her kick it with her thigh whenever she walked. The catch in this situation wasn't that the bag was broken. It was… Well, no longer brand new. Far from it. Although considering her current situation, the second year in college, she didn't believe it was already a year since she enrolled. Yet this bag reminded her of that. A gift from her parents. Tidy, practical and most importantly spacious. Since there was no issue with the bag, what else could be wrong? As odd as it might sound, the issue was Blake herself. It was simple laziness that never made her fix that strap. It was always there, reminding her of this simple solution, yet she never seemed to reach out. More content in lingering in this awful situation. Most likely till someone else fixes it for her. While bitter, it made certain memories surface each and every time. This bag marked a new life for her but also was a constant reminder of the life she tried to shed away. After all, that was the point of even wanting to change from backpack to a bag like this.

"What's with you being all quiet today Blakey?" Yang turned around, deciding it was both safe and proper to walk backward as her eyes carefully scanned the black-haired girl with her lilac eyes.

"Speechless that you invited me over, team ace taking her precious time to spend time with an average girl like me?" Blake couldn't help but smirk at her teasing. Yang simply rolled her eyes and spun again to walk normally once more.

"Har har, we were friends before I even knew I would join the team, so your joke is simply put, wrong." Yang nodded at her own words. Maybe the term friends weren't correct, not from Blake's perspective, but it was true that Yang did pester her even before things ended up as they were now. Pester was the right word since the girl was being, at least at the time, obnoxious in her social attempts. Although that was a subjective view after all Blake was trying to isolate herself inside her shell after the events that occurred in her high school days. As such, they ended up in a weird spot with their relationship which did eventually end up as being friends. Maybe even best friends.

Yang previously said that she didn't live too far from school hence why she walked on foot. Of course, Blake should have known that for Yang that meant something completely different than for her. It took them thirty minutes to get to the street that Yang lived at, let alone to her actual house. Speaking of, it seemed that she lived in one of the many terraced houses, as the entire street was filled with identical small houses, while some tried to stand out with different coloring of the walls and roof, most of them were made out of red brick with a dark roof. All of them were two stories tall.

It sure seemed better than her place. Not that she disliked it. Well, that depends which place, her real home or the currently rented condo. Although both were nice, she preferred the latter. If only to get away from her parents. Not that they did anything bad, far from it. If anything they were a bit too protective.

"Here we are! The Yang castle awaits you." Yang opened the gate before her and bowed as she pointed towards the door with her arm.

Blake simply rolled her eyes moving in the direction which Yang pointed her at. She heard the blonde girl close shut the gate behind them and catch up to her to open the door to her house. "Come on in, throw your coat wherever, same with the bag." Yang had enough time to say that before a small creature, a dog creature, ran out of one of the rooms to greet her. "Hey, Zwei." The blonde grinned as she knelled to pet the dog.

Blake grew stiff at the sight of the small Corgy. It's not that she was afraid of dogs. Not dogs like this, but she… Disliked them. "You didn't mention you had a dog." She said, trying to sound as neutral as possible considering the circumstances.

"I didn't? Well, then you're in for a sweet surprise!" Yang exclaimed excitedly as she picked the small dog up and presented it to her. "Meet Zwei! The bestest dog there is." She said with a grin.

Sadly for Blake, the best dog still meant dog. "R-Right, you can put him down now." She forced a nervous smile.

"He's super friendly." Yang continued as she got closer while still holding the creature in her arms.

"Yang it's fine, I believe you." She muttered, but as the girl got closer, Blake found herself cornered. "Yang enough! Stop!" She finally raised her voice which seemed to work as Yang took a step back, shocked at her reaction. The dog seemed confused, was it by her reaction or just by this situation as a whole, Blake wasn't sure. She was just glad that the distance between them grew.

"What's up? Wait, you're not allergic to dog fur or something, right?" The blonde frowned.

"I'm… I am." She nodded, her first instinct was, to tell the truth, but she stopped herself just in time. This was a lie, but regardless she didn't want to be anywhere near that thing, and explaining herself would simply make Yang very persistent. Which, in this case, would not work as it did previously.

"You never said anything." Yang said and let a small sigh. "Sorry little buddy, guess you'll have to sit this one out." She said as she settled the dog down to the ground.

"You never said you had a dog so I never mentioned my allergy." Blake replied, waiting in her corner till the dog would leave her sight, not trusting it one bit.

Zwei, as that was the dog's name, seemed to be upset over this, as his ears went down and he started to whimper. "Aw don't be like that, it's not your fault and nothing we can do about. We'll go for a run later, how about that?" Yang grinned as she tried to cheer the creature up, did Yang assume it understood her? Perhaps, as it seemed to momentarily regain its previous mood, letting out a bark. Although Blake suspected that it was simply attention that caused it. Still, the small thing scampered away.

"What's all this yelling about?" Another voice asked one that Blake didn't recognize. It's owner slowly walking down the stairs.

"Hey Rubes, thought you weren't home yet. Anyway, we'll have a guest for our movie night, you don't mind right?" Yang asked with a smile as she thumbed at Blake. "Blake, meet my younger sister, Ruby."

"Hey." Blake took the opportunity to compose herself before offering a small wave. Ruby, as she now learned her name, froze on the stairs as she spotted her. It took her a second or two before she awkwardly waved back, smiling nervously.

"W-Wait, you mean she'll be here for the movies?" The younger girl blinked in surprise as if it just now occurred to her what Yang said earlier.

"If it's a bother..." Blake began, making it clear what she was implying. She wouldn't want to make someone uncomfortable by just being there. She liked when people kept their distance with her, as such she was well aware of how it could affect others.

"Oh come on Rubes, first the Zwei thing and now you acting like that, she'll think we're the least kind folks around." Yang crossed her arms, sounding plenty annoyed.

"Wait, Zwei thing? What happened to Zwei?" Ruby frowned, the mention of the dog creature made the younger girl frown, momentarily forgetting there was someone else, someone she wasn't familiar with in front of her.

"Nothing bad, I'll explain later. Anyway, you don't mind right?" The blonde asked with a grin.

"Huh? Oh the movie thing, s-sure, she can join us." Ruby replied and quickly moved down the stairs only to disappear in one of the rooms. "But uh I don't think we have enough snacks for one more person." She called out.

"That's fine I don't really..." Blake began but was quickly interrupted by the much louder voice of Yang who was yelling at her sister in the other room.

"Oh, that's fine since I didn't even have the chance to undress I'll just borrow your bike and grab a few! You show Blake around." She called out and turned around to head towards the door, sending Blake a grin.

"What?! Wait, Yang! Don't..."

SLAM

"...leave me." Ruby muttered to herself as she was too late. Blake didn't pay much attention to her words, still a bit shocked from the sound of the door slamming shut just next to her.

She let a small sigh, smiling some as she glanced at Yang's younger sister. The girl in question looked at her nervously, as if deciding what to do… Or maybe trying to keep herself from not doing something she would like to do at the moment, run away.

Ruby, since that was her name, was a tiny bit shorter, with dark, brown hair which turned slightly red at the tips of her bangs. She kept it short but otherwise messy, Blake assumed it was on purpose if only to not judge. Wearing a black hoodie with some elaborated logo she didn't recognize and gray sweatpants, Blake might have had an issue to recognize her as Yang's sister. It was the voice that made it clear Ruby wasn't, in fact, her younger brother.

Still, that being said Blake liked to wear random things at her place as well and it seemed that this girl had no idea she would be coming over… Speaking of which this silence did last for a bit now and it would get extremely awkward if Yang managed to get back before this weird stalemate was resolved. "I'm Blake since Yang's introduction was pretty one-sided." Not sure if she should offer her hand, in the end, she decided to just wave, considering how nervous the other girl already was.

"R-Right, right. I'm Ruby, but you already know that." The younger girl cleared her throat. "Come in, so um what happened with Zwei? Yang mentioned something?" The girl asked as she waved her hand to invite Blake in.

"I'm allergic to dog fur and Yang was very persistent to shove." She paused taking a deep breath to not say something that could hurt Ruby's feelings. "Zwei as close as possible." As she answered she followed Ruby. It seemed that the first room to the left was a kitchen, slightly further in, to the right, was the living room and their destination. With a big couch and a large flat TV, it was a pretty obvious spot to be at considering this was supposed to be a movie night? Wait, since when did Blake agree to be part of movie night?

"Aw, that sucks. Zwei is the best dog, but there's no helping it huh?" While the girl seemed to relax a bit when it came to talking, Blake could still see how mechanical her movement was. As if she was afraid to do something that was outside of some norm. The type of movement where you became self-aware of your own body, making it quite odd to move around.

"There's not." Blake shook her head as they both sat on the aforementioned couch. Once more there was silence between them. This time she wasn't sure what to say to move the topic forward. While she didn't feel nervous when meeting new people, she simply wasn't very… Expressive. Perhaps it's what made her and Yang's friendship working, the fact it didn't feel awkward to just sit in silence whenever nothing important was discussed… And then the fact that Yang was expressive for both of 'em.

"Do you… I mean I'll get us something to drink." Without waiting for her answer, Ruby jumped off the couch and rushed to the kitchen. Blake once more didn't even have a chance to say anything. In a way she was similar to Yang, they were living together after all. She knew what was coming next, this happened from time to time with the blonde. As she started to tap her finger against her leg, it took but five of such taps before the younger girl rushed back in. "W-What would you like to have?"

There it was, acting without thinking. In this case, apter was to say that it was not thinking it entirely through. Blake had to keep herself from smiling, not wanting to scare the girl any more than she already was. Although that was a weird thought. To scare someone with a smile. "What do you have?" While she usually had two answers for a similar question, either tea or water, she didn't want to disclose this too quickly. It was to keep any kind of conversation going. Any meaningful conversation if that made sense.

"Huh? Oh! Um, some orange soda, cola. We have some hot chocolate and I guess tea and coffee." The girl counted on her fingers, her silver eyes glancing at the ceiling as she tried to remember all the choices. "Although don't pick tea or coffee, I wouldn't know how to make it for you. In a way, for you to enjoy it, that is." Ruby smiled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck. Blake never thought about it, but it was true. Tea always tasted differently and it only really tasted good in a few places, the home was one of them.

"How do you make it yourself?" Blake wasn't sure if she was just making small talk or if she really was curious.

"Do what?" Ruby blinked, not sure what Blake was referring to.

"Tea or… Coffee I guess." The black-haired girl shrugged.

"Tea I just pour some hot water and bury it under a mountain of sugar." It was Ruby's turn to shrug. "As for coffee I uh… I don't really drink that stuff. When I have to-it's basically Cream with sugar. As much as possible before it stops being considered coffee."

Blake pouted her lips as she tried to remember if she ever saw Yang drink any kind of caffeine. "Is it your dad's?"

Ruby crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. Blake wondered if the girl was getting annoyed with her or was it just something she found comfortable. She decided the latter was more plausible. Why? Because if anything, Ruby seemed to relax a bit in her presence over this strange drink topic. "Coffee? Yeah, mostly. There's one more person that drinks it around here, but since they don't visit that often, it's mostly dad."

"Your boyfriend?" It came out of nowhere and even after the fact Blake bit her tongue. Was she curious, did she not care enough to control her tongue or was she simply, on some subconscious level, toying with this girl's feelings? There was no answer, nor any kind of hint that could lead her towards any of these options. She simply asked a stupid question as if out of some weird reflex.

It was to no surprise that Ruby's eyes went wide in shock. Her face wrinkled itself in an odd disgusted frown. Luckily for Blake, the reason differed from what she thought was the case. "What?! No! Ew, as if I would ever walk into a relationship. I'm fine as I am, besides Yang's older and she's still single so I'm fine." Her face relaxed and the younger girl let out a small sigh. "It's for my tutor. Well, a tutor and a friend. She likes to drink that."

It was an odd reaction to her, in context, stupid question. Still, it was strangely satisfying, and while the reasoning for it was different, she too found relationship tiring. Especially after her last one. Seeing as she didn't yet cross any lines with her and quite entertained by her answers and reactions, Blake decided to shrug any kind of guilt off her shoulders. "I'll have whatever you're having." Was her final answer.

"Sure thing, I'll be right back." Ruby nodded. Would she stress over the drink choice because of her? Blake wasn't sure but the other girl came back with two glasses filled with dark sizzling liquid, settling it on the short coffee table located between the couch and the big TV. Her amber eyes hang on the glass for a longer bit. Maybe too long. "Is something wrong? I can still get you something else." Hearing her voice, Blake focused her gaze on the girl, offering a small smile to reassure the girl.

"It's fine, I just rarely have it nowadays, any kind of soda that is." Blake reached for the glass, the temperature of the drink already sunk into the glass, making it cold in her palms. "Once you live by yourself you figure out water and tea are the cheapest way to go about life." Perhaps healthy should be input somewhere in that sentence, but she assumed that Ruby wasn't as focused on that part of life. Not yet at least.

"Makes sense even if it sounds awful." Ruby scrunched her nose at that. "Living on tea alone. I don't mind tea but just that? No thank you."

"You can substitute it with water." Blake shrugged and let go of the glass before even lifting it.

Ruby simply shook her head. "I don't really like water, the best I can do is flavored ones"

"You get used to it." Was Blake's response. Not a very good response since it abruptly ended the topic at hand, thus creating more silence.

The silence was one of those things that had two definitions. Book definition and one commonly understood. The silence was lack of sound, plain and simple. Which wasn't exactly correct when you think about it more commonly. Blake could never fully put it into words. It was lack of any loud sounds and sounds that you had to pay attention for. Whispering to one another was not silence. Yet a classroom filled with students all filling out a test, with a clock ticking in the background, with the sound of multiple pens scratching against paper. That was, in most ways, considered silence.

Blake liked silence and that made it a pleasant topic to think about. It allowed her to focus on something different than her thoughts. When it came to more than just one person, there were two types of silence. The comfortable one and uncomfortable one. It was very clear and easy to understand classification. The comfortable one was pretty easy to explain. It was silence without expectations. One where you could relax to the sound of whatever activity you and other people did. The uncomfortable meant some kind of expectations. It could be one person, both people if it was just two of them or a few if it was a group. Blake hated it. She hated being forced to come up with pointless topics to discuss. Weather, school, grades or worse, gossips and such. She liked to discuss things, share opinions. It wasn't that she didn't like to talk at all. She simply saw the clear line that divided the meaningful topics and pointless chatter.

"Yang's taking her sweet time huh?" It didn't work well for the younger girl, as Ruby's voice had once more this strange undertone of nervousness in it.

Blake felt responsible for how Yang's sister felt. Why? She wasn't sure. Maybe because she was older? Maybe. "She is." Blake nodded and stifled a sigh that wanted to escape her lips. "Since we're waiting for her, how about telling me what we'll be watching?"

"Yang didn't tell you?" Ruby frowned. "Wait, don't answer, she didn't." The younger girl shook her head. "It's like her to do things like this."

"Skipping on steps she finds unimportant?" Blake chuckled at that.

"That's one way to put it." Ruby simply sighed and stood up, heading towards the TV or rather the small glass shelf underneath it. From there she took out three DVD boxes. "We'll watch "Chasing Death" the first three movies that is." Ruby announced excitedly.

Chasing death sounded familiar. Although it was no secret, at least to people that spent some time around her, that Blake wasn't much for this type of media. Books, stories, comics even, since she could digest them at her own speed. Movies were a type of media that had a set time and it required a bit more than owning a book or a phone with internet access. Although one could argue that movies could be watched on one's phone, there was still the fact that it was hard to digest it at your own speed.

"Aren't there like eight already?" Blake tilted her head, even if she disliked it, living in this day and age it was hard to escape advertisements. That was the highest number she associated with that specific title.

"Yep, there was a marathon on the TV last weekend, me and Yang caught only the last two, so we decided to rewatch all of them from the start since it seemed fun." Ruby explained as she went back to her seat. Placing the DVD boxes between their drinks, as she grabbed her glass to take a sip of the sizzling concoction. "I actually looked it up and while the series starts as a horror, later on, it evolves into an action flick. Or devolves, depending on who you ask." Ruby shrugged.

Blake nodded as she listened. Not that she particularly cared, but she had to pay attention to fish out details she could later ask about. This was yet another annoying thing of having to keep up a conversation, effort. Putting effort into things wasn't bad, far from it. Blake understood it. It was effort being put into something she considered pointless, that made her dislike it. "You're a movie buff then?"

"Me? Nah, I just enjoy things that catch my attention. For example..." That was the last word that Blake could comprehend. Well, that was a lie. She understood the words, but she has had terms and names thrown at her that she couldn't, even if she wanted to, put into any context. There was just the pure, raw energy that emanated from the younger girl now. Which was refreshing and endearing. She wouldn't mind having some common topic with her if she put this much energy into all things she enjoyed.

Not wanting to just stare and nod, she reached for her own glass, forgetting what she was drinking in the first place, she took a bit too big of a sip. Her mouth was bombarded with sugar, the fizzling sensation overcame her tongue and she had to put some small effort into not either spitting it out or pushing it down in one big gulp. She felt her eyes tear up slightly at that. She disliked intense sensations. Although even she herself came to a simple conclusion in regards to those, she was simply afraid of them. It felt overwhelming, no matter good or bad. It was easy to explain not wanting to feel the bad, as any amount of bad was… Well, bad. The good? The good felt… Too good. As if she could get addicted to it, no longer being able to enjoy other, smaller things. It was stupid of course, to some degree, but she never felt like it was anything bad.

The sound of doors shutting broke her train of thought as well as silenced the younger girl. Both of them glanced towards the door, amongst which Yang appeared, holding two bags in her hands. "Hey! Sorry that it took so long, I stumbled upon some folks from my team and since someone was running late they asked me to fill in for them till they get there." She announced with a sheepish smile.

It was one of those moments where Blake couldn't hold her annoyance.

"Yang!"

Blake paused as she blinked. The reason being that it wasn't just her voice calling after the blonde. As she glanced at Ruby, their eyes meet. As the realization hit them both, she could see the cheeks of the younger girl grow red and she could swear she felt her face heat up as well.

"Uh, glad you two found a common wavelength. I'll take those to the kitchen, unpack and we can start!" Paying little mind to their reaction, both the yell and what came after, Yang simply walked off towards, what Blake assumed, had to be the kitchen.

"I-I'll help her out, to make it faster." Ruby mumbled as she quickly got up and ran out of the room.

Blake? She simply let out a deep sigh. She once wondered if Yang was one of her kind or maybe she simply was one of her kind. It turns out the latter was the right answer.

This was how she meet Yang's younger sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel very awkward writing animals, but that was not the reason to make Blake react the way she did nor for me wanting to find a reason to write him out. He will be part of the story, worry not. Too often I ignore his existence.
> 
> Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed it, even if it was just a small prologue.


	2. Future Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know this story or well, the first chapter would get received in such a positive way. So thank you all for that.

„What am I even doing here." Blake muttered. She once more found herself on the couch of Yang's home and just like before, the blonde wasn't there. It was almost like she kept inviting her over only to have a reason to go out. She was in her house twice and not yet getting close to even setting her feet onto her friend's room. It wasn't a big issue. Well, it was, but not because she really wanted to be in her room. Sure, a tiny bit curious, but who wouldn't be curious. It was just awkward to sit here in the living room. Awkward and dangerous as there was an unattended dog running free. Not the best situation to find yourself in.

The worst was a pair of girls behind her seated at the big table. There was a studying session… Or rather a tutoring session. Was there even a difference? She wasn't sure. It's not that it disturbed Blake, far from it. Under any other circumstances, she would find it a pleasant white noise. It happened often in the library around finals or some form of exams.

What was making it so awkward? There wasn't anything she could do to entertain herself as she waited for Yang to come back. She didn't expect to be invited over and considering all the classes and courses she had, there was no need to bring a book or anything to keep herself occupied over a longer period of time. Her phone was low on battery and she always felt bad and almost anxious to waste that on meaningless activities in case of an emergency. What emergency? She wasn't sure, but that was the nature of emergencies, you never knew when it would happen and what sort.

There was, of course, the one thing someone could point out if they could read her mind and hear this complaint. The big TV in front of her. It did cross her mind for a brief moment, but immediately two big warning signs appeared. First was the fact that she hasn't watched TV in… Years. Sure, off and on whenever she visited someone and the thing was on, but it's not like she knew where she could find something fun or interesting to her.

The same person could then say, but Blake, you could just surf some channels and find something to kill some time while Yang is out there paying for her mistakes. Valid point, sadly the pair behind her came to mind. From what she understood, Ruby was already plenty distracted, with the TV on? That would only increase. Besides, even if not for that, she found it rude to just watch it while the other two would try to focus on their school work. Well, Ruby's school work.

In the end, she just lay there lazily. At first, she got worried about her clothes getting all crumbled, but if she couldn't do anything she at least wanted to be comfortable while… Well, not doing that. Anything, that is. As she laid on the couch, she also found herself hidden from the other girls. At least initially. It took her a long moment to notice that the big TV actually served as a decent mirror while being off, meaning it took her but a slight head tilts to see them.

It wasn't a luxury she paid much attention to initially. She simply closed her eyes and laid there, her mind drifting away as she thought about all the things Yang can get herself caught up with while doing a simple task of bringing back some keys back to the campus since she accidentally had them in her pockets. She just briefly glanced at the screen to see if the two were still there. For what reason, she herself had no clue. Maybe she was just curious. It might as well be boredom.

Whatever it might have been, it led to an interesting discovery. At one of these glances, she noticed that Ruby's reflection was looking at her. While odd in itself, Blake was surprised to see the younger girl move her eyes away as quickly as she noticed that she looked back at her. It was brief, but it felt as if their eyes meet, which forced Ruby to glance away or rather back to the notebook in front of her.

Blake soon discovered that it wasn't an isolated accident. Without anything to do, she would set up a trap for the poor girl. Closing her eyes as she did before, relax and seem as if she was taking a nap only to suddenly glance at the TV to see Ruby do the same thing. Look at her, realize she was looking back at her and panic as she tried to look everywhere but in her direction. At some point, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was playing some odd cat and mouse game with the girl.

This made her ponder about the possibilities. Was Ruby just bored? It might be. Yang never seemed like the best student when it came to the book stuff. Maybe Ruby was the same way, easily distracted. Another theory was that Ruby was just curious about her. It might be a possibility. Why would she be? Blake wasn't sure. She learned long ago that these types of things were subjective. Finding something interesting that is.

Was Ruby aware of this little game they were having? Or was this just done by accident, at least on her part? There were two answers and Blake wasn't sure what either of those entailed about the other girl. Most importantly, why was it occupying her mind so much right now? Perhaps boredom. What else.

"Ruby I had enough." Came the voice of the other girl. "You, uh… Blake, yes? Could I get your attention for a moment?" At hearing her voice, she was too shocked to react at first, needing a moment before her brain caught up with what her ears just heard. Sitting up, she sent a lazy glance towards the table.

"What? Weiss, no! I-I'll focus, I promise." Ruby said, frightened at something that was about to happen. What could it be? Blake had no idea.

"No, I had enough." Weiss stated calmly. No, not really calmly. Coldly. Even she could feel the chill from Weiss. She briefly met the girl, being awkwardly introduced by Ruby, the white-haired girl paid her little attention after the initial introduction, which Blake didn't mind. It seemed she was more focused on getting the tutoring session on, which she understood.

As for the girl herself, she seemed short. If what she understood was correct, she was her age and yet she was around Ruby's height. White hair and icy blue eyes together with the firm expression she wore most of the time she saw her, made for quite a cold first impression. She came in a light blue parka which later revealed a white sweater and black jeans. It seemed oddly casual for her. Why? She wasn't sure. It just felt that way.

"Could I ask you for some assistance?" Weiss continued. Blake glanced between the two, the friendly smile of the white-haired girl sprinkled with a cold stare on top and the panicked face of the other girl, with terror clearly visible behind her silver

"Sure, although I don't know much about that stuff you two are discussing." Blake decided to go along with this request. For one it would be impolite to deny without a specific reason. Two it was to help Ruby. The third reason was the most important one, she was bored and Ruby's reaction was, in a strange way, cute. It became even more so once she agreed, as the younger girl made a strange squeaky noise. Adorable, if not for the fact it was due to a strange mix of fear and frustration.

Sitting down at one of the free chairs, she glanced at Weiss. "So what can I help with."

"You see, Ruby found you very distracting. It's common for her, it's why we're doing these sessions downstairs. Her room is a distraction factory." Weiss started explaining.

"It's not!" Ruby tried to deny the accusation, but one glance from Weiss made her grimace and look the other way.

"And since you're the source of it, I decided that if you sat here with us, she might get enough of you and once her cravings are satisfied, she can go back to paying attention." As Weiss started to talk, her eyes were fixed on Blake, but it didn't take many words before her blue eyes drifted towards the younger girl, a frown blooming on Weiss's brow as her head tilted Ruby's way.

"I could just move to the kitchen." Blake offered, although she did regret it. Mostly because she wasn't sure where the dog creature was being kept at the time of her visits. Yang promised he would stay away but that included her room and the living room. At least she assumed as much.

"Hm? Oh, that actually did cross my mind." Weiss offered a small, troubled smile. "But it wouldn't be fair towards you nor an adequate behavior of me, considering I am a guest here as well."

"Fair enough." Blake nodded, having to stop herself from physically facepalming. She did it again, cutting the discussion shortly and thus condemning it to awkward silence.

It seemed she was wrong and she could even square that… If that made sense. It didn't, not really. What happened was that Weiss was immediately about to say something, cut short by a phone signal which turned out to be Weiss's phone. After reading the message she sighed. "It seems it's not important. Not anymore." She turned towards Ruby. "I have to cut this session short. Finish the rest of those as part of your homework. You'll be fine with it?" Blake wasn't sure if she was in the same room anymore. Why? Because suddenly there was a completely different person before her. As if someone flipped a switch, her behavior turned one-eighty degrees, from a blizzard hidden behind a cold, polite facade into a warm smile of a spring afternoon. Bad comparisons aside, Ruby wasn't surprised at all, as if nothing was different.

"I'll be fine. If anything I'll try to get it done before our phone call so I can always ask you then." Ruby answered with a small smile of her own.

Weiss giggled at that. "You're such a charmer Ruby, always knowing what to say to make a girl smile."

"Ugh, now you're sounding like Yang or someone from her team." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yes yes, a girl can have some fun, can't she? Anyway, I'll be on my way. Don't worry about seeing me off, you have another guest to take care of." With that, Weiss turned towards Blake. "Once more I apologize that I involved you in this. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Yeah, yours… Too." Blake nodded, not sure what to answer to that. After all, was said, Weiss stood up and collected her things before leaving.

This, of course, left the room in complete silence. Ruby pretended she was focusing on her notebook before her. Something that, if she did initially, would avoid this awkward situation in the first place. It's not that Blake cared much for the silence. She just knew the other girl expected for something to happen. Standing up and going back to her place would also be a bad thing, as Ruby could think it was… Something. What it could be? Blake wasn't sure. Yet considering how odd the girl behaved, at least towards her, she didn't want to risk anything. She didn't dislike the girl, so the prospect of upsetting her in any form wasn't something Blake wished to achieve.

"That looks quite difficult. I don't think we dealt with that in high school. Do they really require all that now?" Not sure what else to bring up, Blake reached for the low hanging fruit. Although it could as well be the only fruit on this tree.

"Hm? Oh! No, no." Ruby shook her head, glancing up from her notes. "I can barely keep up with this as well. Although it helps with the actual school stuff since that's a breeze in comparison." The younger girl chuckled.

"Why try to keep up with this difficult stuff then?" Blake tilted her head to the side.

"It's..." Ruby paused, clearly hesitating. Blake was about to say that it's fine but was too late as the other girl continued. "It's because I want to get an engineering degree in the future."

"That sounds great." Blake said with a smile, although it didn't escape her that Ruby's initial reaction was as if she was about to get hit… Well, maybe not that. Hopefully not that. Still, she prepared herself for hearing something awful in return. Even when Blake considered this to be an easy mystery to solve about this girl, it once more turned out to have a second, much deeper bottom. At this point, she should just buy a magnifying glass and a pipe.

Ruby blinked. "It does?" If she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, this was confirmation.

"Having plans for future, ones that aim high but not too high and are reasonably accessible with the right amount of work? I would say it is a nice thing to have." Blake nodded. Initially, she just wanted to say yes, but that wouldn't do. Not with Ruby nor with someone who needed reassurance. At least Blake thought she needed that. Was it because of low self-esteem or some other reason, she wasn't sure. Regardless, saying more was better. Awkward silence did become Blake's bane as of late.

"I'm… Happy that you think so." Ruby offered a small smile and it didn't take Blake's amazing social skills to understand that she was far from happy. That was a lie, partially. She didn't know if Ruby was really happy that she praised her. The fact was that she seemed distressed to discuss this.

Against her better judgment, Blake decided to push the issue. Why? Because she was an awful person and she was curious. It couldn't be worse than just blurting out a question about a potential boyfriend, right? "I'm sure your dad and Yang are proud too, considering how most of us deal with our future." Blake was bad at acting and as she tried to put a little extra happy note into her words, she grew anxious that Ruby could read past the fake attempt.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm sure they are." Ruby answered as she started to rise from her chair. "I have to finish this, so I'll head to my room. I'm sure Yang will be back soon." Not waiting for an answer, which she wouldn't receive considering how stunned Blake was, Ruby headed upstairs, disappearing behind one of the doors.

It was the first time she saw the girl so serious and… Cold? It might be that. Perhaps not as chilly as the girl from before, Weiss, was it? But still, leaving you to feel quite unpleasant. Blake didn't really blame her, not really cared for this type of behavior. It was just odd to see Ruby act that way. Then again, was it really? She barely knew the girl.

Which brought a perfectly good point, why did she care? Sure, she hoped there was nothing bad going on since she didn't wish anything of that kind upon Ruby, but why did she bother herself with all this? Maybe it was just the fact it was a mystery. Mysteries are fun and exciting. Especially ones that don't require you to do much in order to solve them. At least for her.

oooOOOooo

Blake wasn't sure what to expect from Yang's room and in a way she still expected it to look the way it did. With a single bed, drawer, wardrobe and a desk on top which rested a closed laptop. It wasn't too big, but spacious enough to not have to worry when going in and out. There were posters of various bands on the wall, some that Blake forgot even existed. When questioned, Yang shrugged and said it would feel empty if she tore them off and she didn't really have any replacement.

It did boil to one thing, change. The change was awful when it came to the place you call home or going further, call your own. Which did make Blake believe that if she had something else to put over there, the older ones would be torn off.

As for them? It was the usual. Mood wise, that is. Yang laid on the bad with her headphones on as she looked something over with her phone. Blake choose the floor, it had a comfy carpet and she could rest her back against the bed. It was less of a hassle to request the bed and far more comfortable than sitting at the chair. Blessed with a charger, she was able to try and find something entertaining for herself through her own phone.

Some could call this rude, with them sitting in the same room yet not paying much attention to one another. Blake didn't see it that way. She was aware of the other girl and if a topic arose, be it from some thoughts one of them had, something they saw or simply remembered, they could just talk about that. Otherwise? It was fine to just be in each other's company. You can quickly show a hypothetical cat picture or share an outrageous quote someone said. In the end, this silence was comfortable. Neither required the other to speak, which didn't mean talking was prohibited. Blake liked to think about it as a deeper connection, pure of insecurities and anxiety of silence. While it sounded as if both of them transcended on some higher level, it wasn't that deep. It was simply relaxing. Besides, Yang had her chatty moments. Plenty of them.

Relaxing, that was the word, right? But Blake couldn't do that. Not fully. Something was gnawing at the back of her mind. Maybe not something but someone. It was obvious what that was. Or, well, rather who. Ruby and her strange behavior from before. Yang had answers, the issue was how to get them. It already felt like too much effort. Her usually indulgent curiosity was spiked by the nagging feeling, thus leaving Blake in a situation where she could not win, no matter what. It's either be bothered by one or the other.

Raising her arm, she nudged Yang to get her attention. The blonde slid her headphones and raised her head. "What's up?"

"What's your plans for the future?" Blake rested her head against the edge of the bed in a way to still be able to see the other girl.

Yang's brow raised at her question. "Where did that came from?"

"Saw something and it made me think. So have anything yourself?" Blake always preferred the direct approach. Why? Because it was the sneakiest. She once read in some fantasy story how people always look behind them to avoid being backstabbed and it's usually a frontal assault that gets them. Or, well, someone from the front. If she asked around the issue, then Yang had all the reasons to think it's suspicious. A direct question like this? Especially if she had an excuse? Would fly under the radar.

Although why would Yang be suspicious over anything. Blake suppressed a sigh, was she overthinking this?

"To be honest? I don't know. I always thought I would get drafted somewhere. Somewhere outside of the city maybe even country. You know, give me a chance to do what I love and see some world." The blonde shrugged. "At worst I'll become a P.E teacher somewhere." It was her time to tilt her head curiously. "What about you? Any plans?"

Right, it was obvious this question would get bounced back at her and yet she didn't really think of anything. Maybe that was for the better, since this way she could look more genuine. "Best scenario? Small business. Worst? Probably some corporation." Just as Yang before, once she was done laying down her plan, she shrugged. "Does your sister have anything going on?"

"Ruby huh? Yeaah…" Yang let a tired sigh. "She wants to get an engineering degree."

"In what?" Should be the first question she asked Ruby after she told her that, but she didn't know their discussion would be cut short in such a… Unique way.

"Mechanics? I think it's called that." Yang stretched, placing her phone beside her as she sat up

"Sounds tough, but that's not a bad plan so what's with that sigh?" Was Yang against it? It seemed as if the issue laid with her and their dad.

"No, no! It's completely fine. I support my little sister. It's just..." Yang paused and looked to the side. "You read those articles and other stuff on social media about how certain "enrolments" are filled with men and how women struggle in it. I'm worried, that's all."

"You think she's too weak to work in places filled with guys?" Was this it? Perhaps. Question was, how did Yang express her worry.

"She's stubborn when she wants to be, that's for sure." Yang groaned as she laid back down. "I don't know Blake, it's hard to explain. I'm proud of her but at the same time I'm worried."

"What about your dad? Same outlook?" Blake was afraid that this could be too much, she never was this curious.

"Kinda? He's afraid she'll manage to go through the difficult and exhausting education only to be bullied out of the field of work she trained for thus being forced to waste time to fit somewhere else or stick to something worse." Yang paused for a moment. "Well, that's the gist of it at least. He still supports her but of course, he'll be worried. It's what dads do, they worry." She chuckled at her own joke.

Blake couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes at that. Not the joke, but the truth behind it. "They sure do. I guess Ruby isn't too happy you guys worry this much and plant seed of doubt all around her?"

"We avoid that topic, otherwise she gets defensive and it just leads to an argument no matter what." Yang shrugged.

"Can't blame her." Blake rolled her head to glance at the ceiling, before closing her eyes. What a mess.

"Can't blame her either, but you can't blame me for worrying, right? So you have two sides and both have the right to do what they do." Yang stated. Blake wasn't sure if it was right. She could argue but the question was for who? Which side had more weight behind their arguments? Yang was worried which was natural but she still claims to support Ruby. Then again maybe the younger girl just needed a bit more of said support. More cheering and less worrying, at least visibly. Worrying never helps, if anything it can be contagious.

She shook her head, this was none of her business. She unveiled the mystery and that was it. Stepping into family issues like this was crossing a very thick line.

An odd thought came to her mind, something she herself was surprised at. Why? Because she never drilled this deep and yet even after getting her answers, she still wanted to be in some way involved. That thought? Support Ruby in her plans for the future.

It wasn't really as much of a thought, as a desire. This kind of thought would be a conclusion to a logical thought process, right? While she herself had no idea when this desire came to be, let alone why.

Perhaps the reason wasn't too complicated. Ruby was younger and, in Blake's mind, she was outnumbered. It was only natural to side with the underdog, however odd it sounded considering the situation. Besides it's not like supporting the girl meant much effort, it was just assuring her that she was wholeheartedly on her side when it came to her education choices.

It made her smile, although that was quickly corrupted into a smirk. How noble of her, but it was something she couldn't change since she sure wished she could make herself not care. What mattered was that it helped, this information and her decision. Now she could relax and enjoy something else that was not related to Yang's younger sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I previously did attempts at a slice of life but they always ended up with something that broke it into... Well, something else. This time I don't perceive anything like that happening.
> 
> I was and still am in the right mood to get at least one more chapter out of this, although with Christmas coming and all that I'm not sure about the time. So no promises.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and I didn't betray the trust people put in me by deciding to follow along with this story!


	3. Setting up a line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you guys are still enjoying the story.

It didn't take a long walk from the bus stop for Blake to be reminded of her cursed bag. She could have easily fix it on her bus ride since she managed to get a sitting spot, but there were far more important things. At least at the time. She wasn't sure if this was laziness or something else. Then again what could it be? Masochism? In that case, Blake was happy to announce that she was a lazy person.

While her apartment wasn't that much farther than Yang's house, she wasn't that big of a fan of physical activities to walk all the way to her college. Sure it was a short ride that took no longer than 10 minutes, but it would make it four times longer if she went on foot. Not to mention it would tire her out. When did she become a couch potato like this? It had to happen somewhere around her transition from middle school to high school. At least that was when she skipped any kind of P.E classes.

Besides, this way they both could meet up. She and Yang, as the blonde usually waited for her at the bus stop. If not Blake would simply walk by herself. Not that she was rude, they simply agreed that would be the best course of action. It wasn't a long walk anyway, maybe five minutes at a leisurely pace. Waiting would be an issue, since she would never know if Yang would arrive, for whatever reason. It also seemed like a petty reason to send her a text over something like this. So while it was her suggestion, she didn't feel bad. They would see each other sooner or later, right?

„Ah, crap..." As Blake heard Yang, she couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. This was never a good sign.

"What's up?" She turned around to notice the blond pat herself over as if she was about to board a plane or something.

Yang searched through her pockets and even backpack, not finding the item in question, she came to a very shocking conclusion. "I forgot my phone."

"Well, guess you need to get ready for a whole day without it." Blake shrugged. It would be awful, she knew that, but what else would they do? They can't get late and even Yang couldn't run back and forth and still be on time.

"But I'll die without it! Ugh, we're having physics. Do you know what that is? It's torture, water torture." Yang offered her best over-exaggeration as she explained her frustration.

"Well if there's anything we can do, speak up. Otherwise, I don't see a reason to fret over it." What was that saying? Don't cry over spilled milk? Something like that.

Yang stopped in her track and frowned thoughtfully. As some kind of idea emerged, she snapped her fingers. Blake was already afraid of what it could be. "Ruby is skipping math again, meaning she'll be heading out at around our noon break."

"That's great, how does that solve anything?" Although it was an interesting bit of trivia about her younger sister. Maybe, since she wasn't really a delinquent. Skipping math when you're ahead, Blake could see that being a thing. Math is boring when you don't understand, sitting there reviewing things you already know and surpassed? That has to be hell… Not that she ever experienced being even close to a situation like that.

"We can call her and ask if she can't make a small detour and bring me the phone." Yang explained her master plan with what must have been the smuggest look the girl could pull off.

As always, this plan wasn't very tight. "How exactly are you going to call her when the issue is you not having your phone with you."

"Duh, you have a phone. We'll use that." That made more sense, but just slightly more.

"But I don't have her number." This was getting tiring, it's not like a day without a phone would kill her.

"You don't but I do, so show me your phone for a moment." Yang reached out towards her.

"Wait, you didn't remember your own phone number when we exchanged those, but you memorized your sister's?" Blake's brow rose as she handed Yang her phone.

"Yep, I have my number on my own phone, that won't be always true for Ruby's and besides why would I need to know my own phone number?" There were a lot of things that Blake wanted to say but decided against it. Why? Because if this is how Yang lived up till now, meant she had it down to some form of a working process. She hoped, at least. "One… Two… Three… There we go, here." After dialing her number, Yang waited a few seconds before handing her the phone back.

Blake was too surprised to react in any other way but to take her phone back. Before she understood what was going on and before she could handle the phone back, she heard a voice coming from the speaker. "Hello?"

Sending a glare towards the blonde, Blake had no other choice but to respond. "Hello, Ruby?" No other reasonable choice. She could just try to push the phone back to Yang, although that seemed pointless and childish. Besides, they were running out of time to get to their first class.

"Uh, Yes? Who's calling?" Ruby's voice was oddly confident, which was very refreshing and nice to hear. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps the usual anxious behavior seemed like the opposite of this. Even if it was just a tone of voice over a phone call.

With a deep breath, she answered, trying to calm herself off of any annoyance that should be directed at Yang and no one else. "It's Blake."

Before she could continue with the explanation, Ruby's reaction cut into that. "B-Blake?! How did you get my phone number?" Her previous observation now deemed wrong, as the girl's voice went back to how it always was around her. At least most of the time.

"Yang has an issue and she gave me your number to call you." Blake wasn't good at making quick decisions. Not terrible, but she never enjoyed them, although who did enjoy time pressure. Maybe some, but not her. With that in mind, she knew that she had to hook Ruby with something otherwise it would turn out to be a weird ping pong game of explanation, which she wanted to avoid.

"Oh...Oh! What's wrong? Is she alright?" Concern, that just made Blake feel bad. She didn't intend to upset the girl.

"No, no, it's about her phone. She forgot it." She couldn't be faster to explain that to ease the girl from over worrying. She saw how she dealt with strangers, she saw the girl annoyed but she did not yet experience worried Ruby. She didn't want to gamble on how that looked like. Not over a phone.

There was a deep sigh on the other end of the call. "Right, how am I involved in this?"

"Her idea was that you could bring her the phone once you're out to go to school yourself." Indifference, Blake saw no reason to put any effort or emotion into this explanation as it wasn't her issue, it was a silly issue at best and then she was forced to be the spokesman for Yang's issue.

"Rubes, you wouldn't want for dad to know about your little math breaks." Yang moved closer and leaned towards the phone as she raised her voice. Threats and yelling, a great start of the day for Blake. At least the threats weren't aimed at her.

There was a long pause, followed by a sigh. "Fine, I'll head out before your long break or whatever you guys call it. So tell Yang to wait for me otherwise I'm bringing her phone with me to school."

"Right, will do." Blake nodded, although out of reflex really.

That was followed by silence, as neither of them knew how to cut the call. Not that Blake felt shy about it, she just wasn't sure if the silence on the other side meant something. Should she wait? Just say goodbye and cut it? What was the proper way of ending this odd phone call?

"Ruby?" She decided she had to do something about it. They were running out of time after all.

"Y-Yes?" The younger girl responded quickly.

"Good, you're there. I wanted to make sure. Thanks and goodbye." With that, she ended the call. What an awkward way of saying bye to anyone. What should she say? Was Ruby considered a stranger at this point? Not really. Not a friend either, right? They didn't know each other long enough. Shaking her head she began to walk towards the college building.

"What did she say?" Yang asked as she quickly caught up to her.

"Wait for her at our noon break or else she'll just take the phone with her." With this done, they could hopefully not get too late for their first class.

oooOOOooo

Blake glanced at her phone, as her mind considered the possibilities. It was the long break, or as people here called it, the noon break for obvious reasons. She was alone, as she did not share all of her courses with Yang. That often left her alone, as there weren't many people that approached her. Not that she was a loner, not exactly. There were a few people she sometimes chatted with, and she never was afraid or avoided when it came to some group projects. While she wasn't the smartest around, she liked to get things done as soon as possible. Reliable was the word.

The thing she was considering was odd, which lately was something quite tightly attached to her. She added Ruby's phone number. Now, was the odd part that she did it or was the odd part that she wondered if she should do this without Ruby's consent. It was her phone after all, not like Ruby would use it, especially not to look through it. There wasn't anything wrong with adding a number, what if something happened? Still, it felt… Inappropriate to do so.

At that moment she almost jumped as her phone started to vibrate. It wasn't just that alone, what scared her the most was the fact who called. Ruby. Of course, it was impossible for her to call because of being added to Blake's phone, this much she knew. Still, it was hard to shake off that odd feeling of fear that overcame her.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, this time for a different reason than she did previously this day, she answered the call. "Hello?"

"Uh, Blake? It's me, Ruby." The girl said, of course, she would say that she didn't know that Blake added her number… Not that it was anything bad because it wasn't, right? Besides, the girl sounded oddly troubled.

"Ruby? What's up?" Her own strange worries aside, why would Ruby call her, and now of all times.

"Can you come to get Yang's phone? She's nowhere to be seen and I have to go or else I'll be late." The previously troubled tone was now replaced with annoyance and frustration. In what proportion? Blake wasn't sure.

"Right, I'll be right there. Give me a second." Not allowing for the awkward silence to settle she immediately cut the call and stood up. There was no point in arguing why it was her that should get the phone. It was quite obvious she was the only one that Ruby could call. There was also no reason why she shouldn't come to get it. She had nothing better to do and while it would not help Yang in terms of keeping track of her own responsibilities, she wasn't her mom. So just getting the phone for her was enough. Besides, contrary to what Ruby said earlier, she still wanted to give her the phone. Why stand in between sisterly politics.

Leaving the building, she was met with a small crowd in front of it. It was given, considering it was still warm, but this created an issue of how to find Ruby in this human mass. Without much of a choice, she decided to slowly move towards the gate that was part of what fenced the college grounds from the outside world.

Soon she could hear someone calling her name. Turning her face towards the source, she spotted a girl standing next to a bike, waving at her. It took her a moment to notice that it was Ruby. Blake wasn't much to stare at other people's faces, even if she did look at them, her brain would simply stop focusing automatically, as if she trained herself to do so. Why did it matter? Because Blake would never recognize Ruby. She was wearing laced, long black boots that didn't go higher than half of her shin and black leggings covering the rest of her legs. Above all that she wore a red flannel skirt, a black shirt with some band logo she once more didn't recognize and a dark blue jeans jacket.

If Blake had issues identifying Ruby as a girl before, she sure had no more doubts about that. "Blake? You're staring! Come on I don't have time for jokes."

At hearing her name, she blinked, did she really? Perhaps. "Sorry about that I was just shocked to see you in something else than sweatpants and a hoodie." Blake expected a different fashion sense from Ruby. Although she wasn't disappointed. This information simply… Existed.

"Ugh, not you too. I get enough of that from Yang. Look it was Weiss' idea, alright? She went all 'Ruby, while I approve of your desire to better yourself, you also must remember that it is important to keep yourself in high standards in regards to all aspects of yourself' so after I deciphered what she meant, here we are. With me looking like this." Clearly annoyed, the younger girl let a deep sigh.

"I think she's right, there's a reason marketing is a thing. Besides, you look pretty. No need to feel bad about that." While she did expect Ruby to feel embarrassed over the compliment, she did not expect the girl's face to turn red like that, as if she was trying to live up to her name.

"T-That's… I have to go, sorry for having to call you! Bye!" Without missing a beat, Ruby jumped on her bike and drove off full speed.

Blake was stunned as she followed the girl with her eyes, only to realize something. "Ruby! Wait! What about… The phone…?" It was obvious the girl didn't hear her, as Blake didn't really care enough to actually yell after her. She pinched the bridge of her nose. This entire thing was pointless which was starting to form a pattern when the two sisters were involved.

oooOOOooo

"I'm home." Blake announced after closing the door to her apartment. Silence greeted her, as she expected. If there was anyone here to actually respond to her, that would be scary. Why say anything then? Blake wasn't sure. At some point, she decided it was silly only to later justify it by making it a custom in case she ever starts living with someone. She didn't mind living alone, but she wouldn't mind having someone there for her.

With a sigh she took off her bag and her coat, putting the latter onto a hanger next to the door. Next came off her boots, and once she was free to roam her own little home, she took the bag to place it in a more convenient spot.

Her place, as mentioned previously, wasn't big. Large room that served as both a living room and a kitchen, dividing the two aspects with an island, making the kitchen area the smaller part of the room. On the opposing side of the entrance were two doors. One lead to a quite spacious bedroom and the other to the bathroom.

Blake unpacked herself, as her phone, wallet, and keys landed on a small wooden coffee table placed in front of the couch. Now she was free to change and enjoy her freedom to its fullest. Which included some leggings and a blouse, both in black. There were two additional pieces that belonged to the freedom category. A pair of gray shorts and cat slippers. White cat slippers. The shorts had two uses. The first one was to wear it as an addition to her leggings whenever someone visited. Which was almost never. The second was to wear just them when it was too hot. The slippers were rarely used, she didn't mind walking barefoot, since electricity, that meant heating and AC, was included in her flat rent. Although sometimes the floor did get cold, those rare moments were when the cat pair came to the rescue. Not all heroes wear capes.

It all was part of a bigger ritual of course. To set aside all the items connected to the outside world, or at least being part of the venture outside. To undress and change into clothes strictly associated with home. To wash off any dirt, almost like cleansing yourself of the outside world. Finally to reward yourself with a warm cup of tea.

As Blake sat down, inhaling the scent of her freshly brewed tea, she smiled to herself. How special it all sounded in her head. Those trivial things, that together created something she was used to, that made her feel good, that was part of her everyday life, the routine assuring her that everything was right with her life.

That being said, once she was done with it, once she could relax, came a hard-hitting question. What now? This question wasn't motivated by a lack of things to do. It was an abundance of possibilities. Was it a complaint? Perhaps in some way it was. No, it was her fault. She simply wasn't motivated enough to really put any of those possibilities above others. Which brought her to a simple conclusion. She just needed some time to relax.

Fate would throw a wrench into her plans. As soon as she leaned forward to settle the cup back, as soon as the porcelain made contact with the wooden table, her phone vibrated. Blake let a small sigh. Yang had to get her phone by now, it was only natural she would send her some sort of message. Sadly they didn't manage to see each other anymore after Yang didn't manage to meet up with Ruby. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get a message from her then. She smiled as she reached for her phone.

_"Mind if I add you to my contacts?"_

Blake blinked as she read the message. This wasn't Yang, although oddly enough it was close. The sender of this message was Ruby. "How odd." She muttered to herself. Her question brought back the old guilt she felt over adding her without asking. At least this issue would solve itself now.

_"Only if I can add you in return."_ Blake typed back. A small smile blossomed once more on her face. Why? Perhaps because the guilt would leave her shoulders. That was a possibility. It didn't sit well with her to do something like that.

_"Deal."_ Ruby responded immediately. In the end, maybe this wasn't such a big deal. Even Ruby seemed to be more… What, casual? No, that's not it. Relaxed, that's more appropriate. Maybe she did the same thing, adding her, and it was a clever way to ensure both of them knew they had each other contacts?

What now, was the question. Should she say something or leave this as it was. Did Ruby want something? No, that couldn't be. What could she want from her? They barely knew each other. For example, Blake wasn't sure what she could want from the other girl. She wasn't sure why it was so important. Why stare at her phone and wonder about such things, expecting for something to happen. Was it boredom? It might as well be that.

As much as she wanted to, her thoughts circled around that specific topic, not because she was really interested in itself, but it was everything that surrounded it that made Blake ponder. Sadly, as time passed and as the tea slowly disappeared from her cup, she couldn't get any definitive conclusions.

Her phone vibrated once more, this time it didn't scare her nor surprise her as much to see that it was Ruby that messaged her. It wasn't a text of any sort, just a picture of a dog doing something silly. With a sigh, she responded. _"That's cute, but I'm not a big fan of dogs."_

While Blake expected a reply immediately like before, it didn't initially come. It didn't sit well with her, as there was a possibility she upset the girl. Both sisters liked their dog, which meant they were very much dog people.

_"Aw, why not? They're cute!"_ Blake let a sigh of relief at that. It felt good to know that she did not, in fact, tarnish the other girl's mood with her selfish reply. Nor their relationship, however shallow it might be.

Still, how to respond to something like this? Obviously she had to keep her little charade up, pretend its that dog allergy. Maybe if Ruby turns out to be less of a… Persistent person like Yang is, she might admit to her lie and reasons behind it. Both the lie and why she dislikes dogs. Which really just left her with one option. _"They remind me of my allergy and its symptoms. I'm more of a cat person that way, either I want it or not."_

_"Cats are cool, not really loyal but cute!"_ It was a common thing she heard whenever she talked about her cat preference. While initially she always tried to counter-argument that, by explaining that it's independence, it never really went anywhere, discussions like that. In the end, she learned that it was pointless, simply nod and smile. Or shrug, depending on the mood.

Before she could reply with anything, there was another message. This time a cat picture of a similar, silly nature. This did make her smile. Was it the cat, or just the fact that the other girl wanted to share something they both could enjoy. _"That's much better, thanks."_

As there were no more messages from the girl, Blake was once more left to her own devices as to kill off the boredom she felt. In the end, she succumbed to the most basic forms of entertainment. Browsing the web.

OooOOOooo

Blake didn't eat much. She just never had a desire to eat more than she needed. Sure, she enjoyed good food and there were moments that she would stuff herself full, but otherwise? She ate a little bit and had no problems with controlling her diet. If she could even call it a diet. There was, of course, a time in her life where she worried about her weight, which meant she was very much obsessed with her diet, but those were her younger years. Nowadays she convinced herself about not bothering herself with these things, unless she notices something is being off, that is. Besides, she had no one that could care, nor anyone who she would try for. Not to mention, she had little to no desire to even meet anyone like that right now. Although with how things were? Maybe not ever.

As such her last meal before bed consisted of something with cheese, maybe a tomato or a cucumber slice on top. Rarely a small piece of ham would be seen on the bunch. Especially since she enjoyed eating her last meal in bed. As she could simply lay down, watch or read something, eat and continue with whatever she was doing while eating.

Now, someone might mention that it wasn't very smart to eat that kind of stuff in bed, mostly because of crumbs of various kinds. This is where she outsmarted… Well, someone who could make this kind of claim. All that aforementioned food was usually wrapped around in a Tortilla of some kind. Why? Because she once read online that it's what they do in space to avoid crumbs. She had no idea if it really worked, but it tasted nice and it was easy to make, so it became a thing for her to do.

As she was heading back with her food, ready to enjoy it, there was a message on her phone waiting for her. One that wasn't there before she departed to make the previously mentioned meal. In the few seconds, it took her to discover who it was that messaged her at this late, night hour, it didn't really help to ease that worry once she did notice who it was. Ruby.

_"Hey, are you asleep? I'm sorry if I disturbed you."_ This, of course, could mean a lot. Blake wasn't one to worry that often, but in situations like this she would rather be doing that, then be nonchalant about a potential issue.

Settling her plate onto the small table that served her as a nightstand, she decided to reply, as there was no way she could enjoy food before at least knowing what it was she should or should not be worrying about. _"I'm far from going to bed. What's up?"_

_"Yang once mentioned that you like to stay up late. You're the only one I could talk to at this late hour."_ While a simple message on the surface, it gave her a lot to think about. First of all, Yang mentioned her night owl preferences. What did it mean? Blake wasn't sure. The context could twist this in various ways. She wasn't mad or annoyed, but it was worth remembering. Second of all, either the context of what she mentioned previously was important or Ruby was simply attentive enough to remember that little detail about her. Now came the question of why did she message her. Why the need to talk to her?

With her curiosity at the peak, she decided to get straight to the point. "Did something happen?" While, of course, she could ask what happened, her actual reply left some room in case nothing bad happened and Ruby wanted to just nudge her for no real reason.

There was nothing. No reply. At some point, Blake started to wonder if she should send a question of sorts, of what kind? She wasn't sure. Still, something had to happen for the girl to suddenly grow silent like this. Blake wasn't stupid, of course, she suspected it could be the weight of the message she was about to drop yet as with any human, the anxiety and perhaps a bit of selfishness that was in all of us made her worry it might have been her fault.

She found herself just staring at her phone as all those thoughts filled her mind. Only once the realization hit, did she shake her head and stretched. If Ruby didn't want to talk about it, then it was fine. No need to push her further. If she was still curious tomorrow, she could ask Yang if she knew about anything. How she would ask? That wasn't so clear, but she would find a way to make it work.

Blake went back to her original plan, to eat something and do what she was doing the rest of her day, idling online. At least that's what she would do if she didn't receive a message. _"I had an argument with Yang."_

Blake let a small sigh of relief, it wasn't anything outright awful. From what she understood siblings often fought with each other, right? Right. Of course for Ruby it had to be awful, so she didn't want to think of this as something unimportant. Still, it wasn't something… Alarming, like health issues or… Something else. She didn't really want to sit here and think of awful things that could have happened to Ruby or around her.

As relief was filling her body and soul, it had to take enough time for Ruby to think she had to do a follow-up, or at least this is what Blake assumed, since a few moments later she got another message from the girl. _"Weiss goes early to bed and I don't want to trouble her. I thought that, since there might have been a chance you really do stay up till late, I could talk to you."_ even before Blake could think of a reply, let alone actually type it, there was another message. _"It's fine if you're busy or not in the mood! Just say so and we can forget about everything."_

" _That's fine, I was bored and didn't have any exciting plans for the next few hours."_ While initially she was worried it made her sound like she only agreed because she had nothing better to do, Ruby did a similar thing, with making it sound as if she was the last person she would message. Not that Blake minded or was annoyed by it. It was clear that for some reason Ruby was desperate enough to reach out to someone who was basically a stranger. She tried to act the same in return, be nonchalant about it. It was also to lower the tension that might have been created because of the sour reasons Ruby nudged her in the first place. Which lead her to another realization. She once more sent a message that would create dead air, she needed to do a follow up of her own, as well as know in which direction to pull this weird late-night conversation. _"Did you need a distraction or did you want to talk about your argument?"_

_"I don't know."_ Ruby's reply wasn't very helpful, but it did paint the situation. She had to be really upset.

_"That's fine, I'm sure we'll figure something out."_ Already Blake had some ideas. It surprised her a little bit, usually, she wouldn't care. This time though it was different, this time someone required her help. For her to be social. As exhausting as it would end up being, she had to at least try. Besides, while shallow, she really didn't have much to do tonight. _"This Weiss girl, how long do you know her? It seems you trust her a lot."_ A partial guess, considering that she is really supporting the girl with not just a kind word.

_"I'm not sure, a few years. She's harsh on the outside, but if you let it all melt away, you'll see the sweet side of her."_ In some way, this was a pointless thing to say, Blake never liked when people said obvious things like that. Of course, if you meet someone and knew the person for a long period of time you would be able to see past the mask they were wearing. That socially neutral mask, the one that we want to be seen in whenever we are outside of our familiar zones. Still, it's not like she could get annoyed at Ruby. After all, everyone did it and there was a chance she was simply trying to get a conversation going.

_"If you say so."_ Blake doubted she would have enough interaction with Weiss to experience that first hand. She doubted she would hang around her enough to care if that was true or not. _"Was she the one who planned your outfit."_ Blake wasn't sure how else to call it. Design it? That seemed like she would make it from scratch, which she doubted. Although you never know.

Blake didn't mind waiting for this long message. She found herself wondering what kind of reply she would read. In a way, it kept her occupied and most importantly, did not trouble her as much as she thought. actually, it didn't trouble her at all. _"I think I told you it was her idea. Or did I? Anyway, she told me that I have to dress properly in order to get used to it since in the future I'll have to not just be smart but also sell that smart."_

_"You told me that, I was asking if it was her idea for you to wear what you did today."_ It was understandable that she had to repeat the question, this time trying to be as clear as she could be. Clothes weren't really her thing… No, wait that sounded wrong. It wasn't a topic she often discussed. Mostly with her mom and it was simply put, annoying most of the time.

_"I'm not really good at it haha. I'm still learning."_ Blake tilted her head, she wasn't sure what earned that gesture. While it wasn't a direct reply, it was enough for Blake to understand what the girl meant.

_"I think you did a good job. You looked pretty."_ Blake remembered how the girl reacted last time she said that to her, while a little mean, she thought it would be a good idea to distract the girl from her annoyance by making her feel embarrassed. Besides, it's not like she was embarrassing her with anything mean spirited. Her words were the truth. Ruby looked pretty in her then-current outfit. Alright, maybe there was something she could do to make it seem a bit less, like saying she looked nice. Pretty seemed like a bit heavier word that you don't hear that often, at least not genuinely. Still, it could be worse. She could call her beautiful, no?

_"Right, thanks."_ This made her blink. Did she upset the girl? Did she see through her little ruse? Well, was it really a ruse? Maybe a little bit.

_"I didn't mean to upset you."_ After the message was sent, Blake let a deep sigh. It didn't sit right with her at the moment, as it was not her intent to upset the girl. Not with words like pretty.

_"It's fine."_ But was it really? Blake wasn't so sure, at least not till the follow-up message came through. _"Yang teases me so much that I sometimes can't say when people are sarcastic and not."_ While Blake didn't know Yang as long as Ruby did, she knew that some of that teasing might be actually the truth. Unless she called her names, which she would have issues believing. Then again maybe you acted differently towards your own siblings? Or even family. Did she act differently when around her parents? Probably. Wait, was she just claiming that Yang was abusive towards her younger sister? No, that was just wrong.

_"I wasn't being sarcastic."_ Besides, it was about her and Ruby right now. As weird as it sounded.

_"I know I know, can we please change the topic."_ Right, even Blake wouldn't want to be the center of attention for too long. Especially not like this. Although she wasn't sure what else to talk about. Asking things seemed awkward at best like she was doing an odd interview.

A simple idea popped into her head. _"We could find an animal we both can enjoy."_

_"What? Why? I don't mind cats."_ Seeing the reply, Blake tapped the side of her phone thoughtfully. Right, this was the time to make the other girl put some effort into this.

_"I meant to find something we could both genuinely like."_ Looking at what she wrote, she nodded to herself and sent it, only to do a quick follow up. _"So I want a shortlist of a few animals you like, pictures included."_ This plan did have one flaw. She would have to do the same. This would be a long night.

oooOOOooo

Blake yawned as she slowly walked towards the place she wanted to be the least at, especially today. She was too tired to even complain about her stupid bag. It existed, just like her at this moment. "Didn't get enough sleep?" It took Blake a moment to even register Yang's question.

"Mmm…" She offered together with a nod.

"Why? Something kept you up?" Yang apparently wasn't satisfied with her reply, as she drilled further.

"You could say that. I was watching bird videos." She let out a sigh at that, such an awful reason to pull an all-nighter. Well, maybe technically it wasn't an all-nighter, she did get a few hours of sleep.

"Bird videos?" Yang's brow raised as she glanced her way. Blake just shrugged.

"Mmm..." She offered another nod and Yang simply rolled her eyes before silence once more settled between them. At least they managed to find something animal-related. Birds. Even if that was a very broad classification.

oooOOOooo

It wasn't the first time that Blake felt like she just wanted to lay down on her desk and fall asleep. It happened from time to time, usually when she got into something she found out she greatly enjoyed. Like a good novel, some video series online or anything, really. Although this was worse because this time she couldn't blame anything, not even herself, for what happened to her. There were two people she could blame. Ruby, which she would never do and herself, which would be stupid. It would be like blaming yourself for trying to help. As such it was only natural for her to simply exist through this day, nothing more nothing less.

The hardest part was to stay awake. While it was normal for her to drift into the land of her own mind and cut herself from reality, in her current state it more often than not meant she almost feel sleep. As such, the rest of her day was spent fighting off the urge to just let go and, just for five minutes, close her eyes.

At least that's what she assumed would happen. At her last class before the noon break, her phone vibrated like crazy. There were just enough breaks in between for her to know those were messages and not a call. Blake rarely played with her phone while an actual class or lecture was going. She might have not paid attention to it, but at least out of respect, she didn't want to disturb it. She also knew that if it was something important, it would be a call. It did help with one thing, help her stay awake, as her mind got occupied with ideas of what it could be. The first suspect was Ruby, but why would she suddenly spam her like that? Was it important or just some nonsense?

As her curiosity grew with each passing moment, it reached its peak just around the time the class ended. If it went on for even a minute longer, she would break her own rule and actually take a peek at her phone.

Leaving the room, she found herself a quiet place on the side, as to not be bothered or be a nuisance to others, and she unlocked her phone. Double-digit number of messages. Impressive.

_"Sorry about last night."_

_"At least I'm better, it really helped!"_

_"Are you mad?"_

_"I didn't mean to keep you up like that."_

It went on for a good bit, each message seemingly more desperate for a reply. It was… A thing. A thing that she wasn't sure what to do with. While it wasn't bad on the surface, Blake knew that she couldn't let this continue. Not in this state. It would be bad for both of them. Ruby would chase herself into a corner, while she would… Well, grow annoyed if this repeated itself too often.

It would take too much effort to message wrestle Ruby into understanding that she wasn't mad. She was just busy. As such she decided to just call her. While talking wasn't something she felt like doing right now, typing was even more of a bother, especially to handle this type of situation.

As she waited for the girl to answer, a single thought flashed through her mind. What if Ruby wasn't available? What if she was in the middle of a class? She should have asked if she can call first. While her brain was having those great thoughts and brilliant ideas, her body didn't really listen and at some point, it was too late.

"Blake." There was no, hello, it wasn't even a question. It was a statement she heard from the girl on the other end of the line.

Taking a deep breath, Blake started to speak, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible. "Hey, I got your messages."

Before she could finish, a barrage of words came from the other side. "I'm sorry, I really enjoyed last night, it was fun and it took my mind off of things and..."

"Listen!" Blake raised her voice, taking a moment to look around to see if anyone paid her any attention. Luckily people around were too occupied to really care much. Besides, she raised voice was barely above the overall audible clutter filling the halls right now. It also gave her a moment to calm herself. "Please, just let me speak." She waited a moment to see if the younger girl would listen. Once Ruby remained silent for that short pause, Blake continued. "I was busy, alright? I can't have my phone out all the time. So if you'll think that I'm mad whenever I can't respond it'll just paint me as a very angry person." Letting a small sigh, she leaned with her side against the wall. "You're a sweet girl and you wanted to talk, it's not my first rodeo of staying up late, so you're fine. Really. There are just times I can't instantly reply." Should she add anything else? Was this enough? Hopefully. The exhaustion started to kick in on a level where even feeling things started to be difficult.

There was a long moment of silence before Ruby spoke up. "I just made an ass of myself, didn't I? Don't respond! I know I did. It's just..." The younger girl paused. "No, it's nothing. I'm just happy you're not mad."

"I'm not, so please relax and at least wait a day or two before freaking out on me like that." Headache, Blake felt it building up. At this point, she might as well skip the rest of the day.

"I didn't mean to, it just... It just turned out this way. " Ruby replied, her voice filled with guilt. Blake knew that, normally, she would feel a bit bad for the girl, but right now she just wanted to settle this, ensure the girl all was good and rest.

"I know, you were just worried. I get it. But now you know, so we're good, right?" While patient, Blake really hoped there was nothing else. She would hate to give the girl a real reason to worry about getting her mad.

"Yeah… Yeah, we're good. I'll behave next time. You know, limit myself to just one message if I ever think you're mad or something." Blake nodded, although it skipped her mind how pointless that was since Ruby couldn't see her.

"That sounds reasonable. I'll talk to you later, I have to go now." Before she would say something too harsh.

"Right! Right, I don't want to keep you. Have a good day Blake." With that said she cut the call. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she rested her back against a wall. This was a lot of effort she put into this… What? Friendship? At this point, it might as well be that. Especially after all this energy, it took to keep things going. Was it because of Yang that she was so eager for all those self-sacrifices? Maybe, it had to be. There was no other rational reason.

Regardless, she had to leave this place before the next class would start. Go home, take a nap. Maybe inform Yang she was leaving early. Maybe with some excuse? Or just tell her about the headache, pretend it's more than it really is. As she was thinking about that, her phone vibrated again. Another message. This made her sigh deeply. She was tired, especially tired of anything phone related. Taking out her phone once more, she noticed it was Ruby again. Although the message she got, made her forget about the weariness she felt right now.

_"When is the next time you'll visit our home?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was debating if I should make the fact that certain dialogue was text messages, and in the end went for italic text. I hope it didn't bother anyone.


	4. Not all heroes wear capes

„Aw, there's my favorite pup." Yang exclaimed as she crouched to pick up the small dog. Blake took a step back as she watched from behind. „Give me a moment, I'll make sure he won't randomly jump at you from excitement. Meanwhile, you know where is what, make yourself at home." With a grin, the blonde walked into the kitchen with the dog in her arms.

Blake let a small sigh as she did the usual that she got used to whenever she visited Yang's place. Freeze up whenever the furball rolled over to them, wait for Yang to take it away and then take off her bag and coat. While not all parts of this routine were welcomed, it did form a routine, which meant it became a norm. She didn't mind. In a way, it was odd. Last year Yang seemed to have way more time on her hands yet they did not spend as much of it together. This year? Yang seems to be everywhere and still not have enough time to do everything yet she managed to squeeze some time for them to spend together. While nice, Blake knew why. She was worried. The question was simple, was there anything to worry about? From her perspective, not really. Although Blake learned to not trust herself, not anymore.

She entered the living room and sat on the big couch with a sigh. If she couldn't trust herself, who could she trust? More often than not, people saw issues where there were none. Jumping on such conclusions could only create a self-fulfilling prophecy, or in this case, worry. It was too early to think about that. Maybe Yang worried that she was lonely?

Blake did spend most of her time inside, especially last year. If the weather was nice, she would take late walks, if it wasn't? She opted to study. What occupied her mind most, though, was just… Thinking. She wasn't sure why. She always went back, never forward with her thoughts. Sometimes far, sometimes the little time trip took her but a few days back. It was hard to pinpoint what exactly did she do with those thoughts… No, memories. There wasn't anything done to them. No alternative solutions and outcomes. No regrets or happiness. Nothing, it was just her drowning among them, slowly getting closer to the bottom. What a scary thought, yet it never seemed that way when it happened.  
Did Yang somehow learn of that? Or was it just the loneliness she could be accused of.

"Done, I'm still disappointed you can't properly meet the guy. You sure we can't give you some pills or something for like an hour or so? Just so Zwei could meet you." Yang entered the room, two glasses of water in her hands.

"No matter what, it still would be a very… Bad experience. I'd rather not. I trust you when you say that your dog is the best." With a polite smile, Blake rejected the idea. Was this part of their routine whenever she visited? Not really. Although it did happen often enough.

"Can't blame me for trying." Yang shrugged as she settled the glasses and collapsed onto the couch. "Now wait till you see what I prepared for us! I saw it and I immediately knew you would love this."

"I don't know Yang, you know I'm picky when it comes to movies, let alone..." Her sentence was interrupted as someone returned home. Normally she wouldn't pay much attention to it, if not for the fact there was a very loud slam accompanying it. "Hey, Ruby." Blake waved as she saw the younger girl walk past the living room. The girl didn't seem too happy, although sad was not the word she would use to describe her. Grumpy? Or outright mad? She wasn't sure.

"Huh? Oh, hey Blake." The girl managed to crack a tiny smile before continuing with her walk, presumably upstairs.

"What about my hey? Did I turn invisible or something?" Yang called out.

It seemed to work, because Ruby moved back, although she didn't say anything. After glaring at Yang she simply stuck her tongue at her and moved towards the stairs once more. Blake's tilted her head as her gaze slowly turned towards Yang. The Blonde rolling her eyes. Feeling the question in the air, Yang answered it before Blake could even ask. "She's mad she can't see a movie when it's out at midnight and has to wait like eight or nine hours to watch it."

Before Blake could ask any further, Ruby backed once more. "No, I'm mad because Yang would rather spend a girly night then help out her sister." It was too late, Blake was a catalyst to an argument. All she could do was sit back and hope it would get resolved as soon as possible.

"Rubes I told you I had this planned for a month if not more." Yang sat straight up to better see the girl standing in the door.

"This movie had a release date for a year now!" Ruby stomped her feet.

Yang let out a deep sigh. "Too bad you didn't say anything till a week ago."

"I didn't know you became the center of social attention." Ruby crossed her arms.

Yang just shrugged. "Just go in the morning, you don't have to see the midnight screening."

Ruby flailed her arms at that. "I already have tickets! Besides, people will spoil the movie all over the internet." With how the girl was behaving, Blake could almost believe her. That the world was ending that is… Because this was about the world ending, right? It sure seemed like it.

Yang had to be used to this kind of behavior as she hid her face in her hands, clearly tired of the topic. "It's just nine hours, maybe an hour here or there. Rubes, it's not the end of the world."

"Nine hours?! Nine hours! Do you know how much happens on the internet in nine hours? It's like a year." Blake felt her jaw clench as her head moved between the two girls as if there was an exciting ping pong match in front of her.

"I'll go"

"What?!" Both girls yelled in unison, both surprised at what Blake just said.

"I don't know what's going on, but if Ruby needs someone to go with her, I can go. So please, just… Stop. Both of you." It was her time to sigh as she rested her back against the couch.

"I would just go by myself and this would never happen if I wasn't a prisoner in my own house." Ruby once more crossed her arms.

"Dad would murder me if I allowed that. Double if I lied to him by saying I'm with you and something would happen to you." Yang shook her head.

"But Blake will go with me, so it's fine, right? Right?" Ruby asked. Blake wasn't sure, but at this point, she could believe that she saw literal sparks behind Ruby's silver eyes. The hope in her voice didn't help to brush that as her imagination.

"I don't know… Dad wouldn't allow that, I mean he doesn't really know Blake." The blonde grimaced as she frowned thoughtfully.

Blake bit her lower lip, the same hope she initially saw in Ruby's eyes was slowly fading away which made her feel… Bad, for lack of a better term. "But you trust me, right? So just tell your dad you're going with her and I'll make sure nothing bad happens. Everyone's happy." She turned her attention to Yang.

"Ouch, you're making me play a dangerous game." Yang grimaced again, as her lilac eyes moved between Blake and Ruby. She let out an annoyed grunt. "Fine, but I swear if something happens to Ruby and I'll be to blame, you'll both regret it. You hear me?!" She pointed at both of them threateningly.

"Oh my gosh! Blake, you're the best! I..." Ruby paused as her eyes went wide. "I have to get ready! See you later!" With that she basically ran towards what Blake could only assume was her room.

"What about me?! I don't deserve thanks?" Yang once more yelled after her younger sister.

"You're forgiven!" Came a reply from far away.

Yang rolled her eyes. "How blessed I am to be forgiven by the princess of this castle."

Blake giggled at that. "Her mood sure can swing."

"Tell me about it." Yang sighed, clearly exhausted. "You sure? It's tonight, a bunch of nerds and a typical cape movie you'll know nothing about."

"It seemed important to her, so why not? I mean I don't have any plans for tonight." Blake shrugged. "And I won't have to pay for anything. I just have to make sure she gets to the movie and back from it in one piece."

"You know? I'm glad. If not for the fact I promised to be at that hang out I would go with her myself. If only she told me about it sooner." Yang shook her head.

"That's fine, I got you covered. Surrogate older sister, that's me." Blake chuckled. Although deep down doubt started to build up. What did she just agree to?

oooOOOooo

Blake double-checked her phone. Ruby sent her a lengthy message with all the details about the movie. Actually, too many details. All she needed to know was when and where to meet, at what hour the movie starts and which theatre did Ruby have her tickets reserved. While she got that, she also got an entire history of the… Movie? Lore would be the correct word. She got all the lore and, as Ruby put it, all the necessary information to enjoy this as a one-off. Suffice to say she skipped through most of it.

Why? Well, Blake never really enjoyed superhero things. Maybe action flicks back in the day, but superheroes never really seemed to interest her. The idea seemed bland in its core and then the attempts to make it more interesting, like humanizing said heroes with various superpowers, wealth or abilities was… Silly. Was it to make them seem more human? Sure, but it was hard for Blake to empathize with an alien powered by the sun or a rich guy with super technology. To each their own, she simply opted out from these kinds of fandoms, series, and movies.

Question was, why agree to go see it with Ruby? It wasn't hard to figure this one out. Blake just… Well, to be honest Blake just wanted to stop the two sisters from arguing. She never really thought about the consequences that waited for her down the line. In retrospect, she just wanted to help out Ruby. If this really meant that much for her, she would help the girl out. Blake knew very well how important certain things could be, no matter if from an outside perspective they seemed insignificant or not.

She checked the message once more if only to make sure she got the time right. While she managed to make this strange event seem justifiable, there was one thing she couldn't get over. She had to pick Ruby up from her home. After asking about where they should meet, she got an immediate response and was informed she had to come for her. There were apologies and grumpiness included. The first aimed at her, while the latter at Yang and Ruby's dad. Were midnight screenings so dangerous? Regardless it wasn't completely awful. Just like her late evening walks… But way later. Especially since she has to take the girl back to her home and then get back to her own. At least she had a reason to sleep in the next day.

The walk didn't take that much longer. Blake soon found herself under the Gate of Yang's house, which she was informed would wait open for her. Although she questioned if the gate was locked at any point at all, she decided it wouldn't be bad to feel at least a little special. It didn't matter anyway, right? The first real obstacle tonight was the doors, which she knew how to overcome.  
The doorbell rang and Blake didn't have to wait too long before the doors were open for her, Yang flashing her a grin as she allowed her to enter "Hey, didn't change your mind huh?"

"Why would I? In a way, I did promise to take her to the movie. Suddenly changing my mind would be a little mean. It did seem important for her. " Blake shrugged at that. Her brow raised as she spotted Yang's expression, it seemed troubled... Like she was bothered by something. Not that Blake possessed any secret ability to read mimick of other people. Unless it was Yang's face. Maybe she was used to the girl or the blonde was simply not very good at keeping her thoughts to herself, but it was her face that more often than not betrayed what was on her mind.

"What's wrong?" Blake tilted her head curiously.

"Huh? Why should something be wrong?" Yang's brow raised at the question.

"You have that look in your eyes like something's bothering you." Blake shrugged. She never liked to pry. Ask and if someone didn't want to talk about it? Move on.

Yang crossed her arms and glanced over her shoulder at the stairs leading towards the upper floor. She suddenly leaned closer to Blake. "Hey uh... Blake? You wouldn't be helping Ruby cover some sort of secret right?"

She blinked at that, more surprised at the sudden lean in rather than the question itself. What's with this weird conspiracy tone? "I don't think I am, not consciously at least. What's with the odd question."

Yang's eyes moved to the side at that as she leaned back to distance herself away from Blake. "It's just... I don't know. She's acting differently as of late."

"Different? Like, rebellious?" Blake tilted her head, was this about how she acted in regards to a movie?

"Huh? Oh, that? Nah. She's been like this since... For a while now." It was clear for Blake that Yang's answer changed in the middle there, still, it wasn't her business to pry. Ruby acted differently, at least according to Yang. That was her answer as to why Yang asked her the odd question.

"Blake, you're here already! I hope I didn't make you wait." Speaking of, Ruby called out from upstairs, as she glanced down at where she and Yang stood.

"Just got here." Blake replied with a smile. As Ruby rushed downstairs, Blake had enough time to take a good glance at what she was wearing. It seemed like something that she expected the girl to wear. Well, more than what she wore when they first meet or when they meet in front of her college building. Two old elements were present, her boots and her jeans jacket. Outside of that, she noticed black jeans pants and a red shirt with some super hero. Which one? Blake wasn't sure. It wasn't one of the mainstream ones, that's for sure.

"Alright." Yang began as they all gathered next to the entrance door. "None of you will talk of what happens tonight, got it? Also, you two make extra sure nothing bad happens while you're out there. I'm trusting you on this one, Blake." It wasn't odd to see the concern on Yang's face. Although Blake wasn't sure if it was a concern for her sister or for the consequences that might occur if something did go wrong. She liked to think it was the first, but human nature is quite selfish at times.

"Yes, yes, yes, can we go now? We'll be late." Ruby crossed her arms, it seemed that it would take a while before the two sisters would make up.

"Look here, I'm going out of my way so you can see the movie as soon as it's out. You could show at least a little bit of gratitude." Yang frowned as she placed her fists on her hips, glaring at her younger sister.

Blake took a step forward, placing a hand on each of the two girl's shoulder. "Since I'm already here, how about we depart before you two have a fight and some of tonight plans get canceled?" It wasn't often she took initiative, it wasn't her business after all, outside of it just being a bit awkward. Though to get physical like that? Now that was unheard of. She got aware of it when she felt Ruby flinch, not much, but a little as her hand landed on her shoulder. Yang, on the other hand, was indifferent about it. Still focused on Ruby with her fiery gaze.

"Fine, but at this point, I'm only doing this because of you and your time, Blake." Yang shook her head, reaching towards the door. "Still, if something happens heads will roll, so you two better be ready for that and avoid any trouble." With one final warning, she closed the door behind her, leaving Blake and Ruby alone.

One glance at the younger girl gave her all the intel on her current mood. With her jaw clenched and a frown, it was obvious she was actually motivated enough to hold her tongue even if she had plenty to say. "Made sure you didn't forget the tickets?" Blake asked, wanting to break the awkward air that managed to gather. More awkward than usual whenever she was left alone with Ruby.

"Huh? Oh, yep, got them here." She reached to one of the many pockets her jeans jacket had and produced a pair of paper tickets.

Blake nodded at that. "Good, let's go then." As they left, Blake observed the younger girl, making sure she locked the house, not that she doubted her, still, there was a possibility that Yang's previous warning was somehow effective in persuading her to be a tiny bit extra. Just in case.

Thus their long walk began. Blake hid her hands inside her pockets once she felt the chill bite at her skin. If anyone asked, this time of year justified the comparison people made whenever they talked about something being different, the day and night comparison. Light and dark? Sure, but what really made you feel it was the change in temperature. Blake always wondered how successful cities were in trying to escape the cycle of day and night. Maybe not escape but allow people to escape it? Make it easier? Something along those lines. Heat or cold was harder to escape and even attempts to do so made it more apparent of their existence, thus they solidified that difference, made it harder to escape it. Even she was used to just staying up till late, darkness or not. But cold? The cold was something she would rather not dip into.

"So, do you know anything about the movie we're gonna watch? In case you didn't have time reading the message I sent you" Ruby's question brought Blake's attention to the real world. She glanced at the younger girl and couldn't help but smile slightly. There was this energy behind her eyes that weren't seen by her up till now. Not even the excitement for the previous movie series they watched together with Yang.

"Not really, I think I told you I don't really watch movies or shows." Blake shrugged.

"Oh, that's fine! I can catch you up with the important stuff if you want to?" The girl offered with a grin.

Blake just shook her head. "That's fine, I'll be honest I don't really care." Harsh? Maybe, but if she was to spend any amount of time around Ruby, she didn't want to pretend to like things she... Well, didn't like. It's just how she dealt with life.

"Oh, r-right, no problem! heh." Ruby looked to the side for a moment as she rubbed her neck.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to pretend I'm interested. You know, fake it and all." The disappointment that showed on Ruby's face, made some part of Blake regret her decision. Still, it was a better long term solution. Either Ruby sticks around or decides there's no reason to bother and they avoid having to act in a fake way to just tolerate each other.

"No, no, that's fine, really. I just thought you wanted to see the movie is all." Ruby shrugged, her gaze locked at the ground.

"I thought it was pretty obvious I'm not necessarily interested in things like these." Was it Blake's fault? Was she not clear enough?

"I guess, still there was a part of me that thought you might be interested in it, just because why not, you know?" Ruby shook her head, Blake could only assume it was a gesture aimed at her own naive hopes.

"I'm doing this for you and Yang. I mean, seeing a movie I don't have to pay for isn't that big of a deal." Blake wasn't sure if she was doing it for them or just Ruby. Rather, she didn't know if it had any effect on both of them. Would this help to fix things between them over this silly movie? Hopefully. If not? At least Ruby was able to see it.

"How exactly does Yang benefit from this? She would go see her stupid friends regardless." Ruby grimaced at that.

"She told me she really wanted to see it with you. So she was happy I volunteered to do that for her, this way you could at least go see it yourself." Blake was surprised at that bit of honesty. Was she selling Yang out? She wasn't sure. If that was the case, what was the reason to do so? Wanting to fix things between them? While just going to see the movie was fine, since worst-case scenario it was just to help Ruby out, this was getting involved on a much deeper level.

"She told you all that?" Ruby asked although Blake expected to see the younger girl either happy or doubting. No, the girl seemed very grim over those words.

"She did." Blake nodded, not sure how else to answer but to tell the truth.

"She always does that. She says things, but it ends at that. Words." Ruby answered, kicking at a small piece of trash that had the bad luck of ending up under her boots. "Ever since she enrolled in college it's just words like that. Nothing but broken promises and apologies. Then she just criticizes my decisions and orders me around." As if a realization hit her, the previously angry face was in an instant replaced with shock, as Ruby glanced at her. "I'm sorry Blake, I didn't mean to go out like that. Look just ignore all I said. I just... Sometimes all of this is just too frustrating." The younger girl lowered her head, growing silent.

"That's fine, I might not talk much but I can still listen. Especially if it's important." Not wanting to repeat her mistake from earlier by placing a hand on the girl's arm, she still wanted to get her attention, settling for a small shoulder nudge. "You can't do anything about Yang right now, so you could at least try and enjoy the movie we're about to see."

"I guess you're right." Ruby shrugged and took a deep breath. "Gotta think positive." She nodded to herself. While mostly fake, the new enthusiasm did make Blake smile a bit. At least the girl didn't give up.

oooOOOooo

The closer they got to the theatre the more apparent it became to Blake that this movie was, in fact, a very anticipated thing. Even from a distance, the crowd seemed gigantic, the reality of that only becoming more clear the closer they got. "Not all tickets were available to get online, so they hope to get it now. Either that or buy them off of someone, be it from scalpers or not." Ruby shrugged as she explained. It did make sense. Buy it and sell it for triple the price? Maybe not an amazing profit but still, money is money.

Finally, they found themselves on the outskirts of the big mass of people. The question was, what now? This made her glance at Ruby. "So, do we wait now?"

"We can get inside, we have the tickets so they should let us in." Ruby answered and moved forward. "Excuse me... Excuse me!" The younger girl called out as she tried to find any kind of opening, or at least anyone who would pay attention to her. A few heads turned around, but before she could say anything, their attention went back to whatever it was before. This didn't sit well with Ruby, as with each next attempt, she had less confidence, which in return made every next attempt weaker than the previous one.

Blake shook her head and stepped forward. "Come on." She said to the younger girl as she grabbed her hand. She heard the girl say something in protest, but she couldn't make out what it was in the sounds of the crowd, what was important was the fact that she did follow. She held Ruby's hand tight, she couldn't lose the girl in this mass of bodies. Once she was sure that wouldn't happen, she began the tiresome swim through the crowd. Unlike Ruby, Blake simply pushed herself between people, throwing an excuse or sorry here or there, depending on the circumstance. She ignored the annoyed looks and comments. This was what those people created, a big ignorant mass and apparently this was the only way to navigate through it.  
Blake disliked crowds, for various reasons. This was one of them. Although her dislike wasn't because she was afraid of them. Far from it, if anything her dislike for them made it easier for her to deal with it if she had to, as she had little to no care for them. If people wanted to form big groups, they should be ready to take full responsibility.  
It took a few moments, but Blake managed to get them to the entrance which had a few security guards and someone who looked like the theatre worker, although considering how big he was, it reminded Blake from the bouncers from the few movies she saw. "Hello, excuse me, we have tickets." Blake said as she approached the man, taking a quick glance to see if Ruby was still there. The younger girl managed to follow her which she suspected was mostly because she held to her hand. Although considering how red her face was, it didn't serve her well. The sooner they would get inside the better.

"Good evening, I'll have to see them before I let you in." The man explained in a calm voice and extended a hand towards them. Blake first looked at Ruby, who seemed to have something else on her mind. Rolling her eyes, she pulled the younger girl closer, hoping the physical act would shake the girl enough to let her be aware of the situation.

"Ruby, tickets." Blake explained, the other girl looked dumbfounded for a moment, as her silver eyes jumped from between Blake and the theatre worker.

"Oh, right, heh sorry." She smiled sheepishly. With her free hand, she reached towards her pocket and gave the man the tickets.

He glanced at them briefly before handing them back. "Looks okay, you'll have it checked in properly inside. Enjoy the movie." The man explained and took a step to side indicating they can go in. Not chancing on another weird moment from the younger girl, Blake pulled her and got them inside. Once the glass door closed behind them, it muffled the sounds of the crowd, making Blake release a sigh of relief.

"You okay? You look red, you don't have any breathing issues right?" Blake turned around to face Ruby, she looked her over carefully. She heard that some people couldn't handle crowds mentally or even physically, their bodies just locked up to some degree, making it dangerous for them.

"N-No I mean yes I'm fine. Um, Y-Your hand." Ruby said nervously.

"Huh? oh, right. No need for that." Blake chuckled as she released Ruby's hand. "Sorry about that, I didn't want to lose you in that crowd, seemed like the best idea." Was she overstepping her boundaries? This was the third time tonight that she decided it was alright to just touch the girl without even once asking for her permission. Maybe Yang was right to worry about her.

"No, no! It's fine, really. Just a little bit surprising is all. If not for you I would probably just... Stand there and wait like, as Weiss likes to call me, helpless dolt." The girl seemed to regain her normal colors ever since her hand was released, even going as far as to let a little giggle at her own words.

"We got inside, that's what matters. Let's check-in." Blake turned around and looked around. She never really was here before. The last theatre she visited was back home. She knew it was here of course, who wouldn't, it was one of the bigger buildings around. There just wasn't a reason to go inside.

"Blake, wait! First, we have to get snacks." At Ruby's words, Blake turned around, her brow raised.

"You want to get overpriced salty food that will make you thirsty for an overpriced soda, so you'll have to go pee in the middle of the movie?" Was she questioning it? Criticizing it? Showing how stupid it is maybe? Blake wasn't sure, maybe all of those really.

"Uh-huh! Blake, that's an important part of watching a movie! Like a ritual. It's like having cookies and no milk. Heresy." As Ruby explained, Blake simply scratched her cheek. There was no arguing with the girl, wasn't there.

oooOOOooo

Blake managed to convince Ruby that a large soda and a large box of popcorn was enough. It's like the girl wanted an excuse to buy a large amount of snack food instead of seeing a movie. The seats weren't bad, at least Blake thought they weren't. Mid row and next to a wall. They were perfect, if only because she could lean towards the wall and not care for much, having only Ruby besides her and no strangers on the other side. She allowed for the younger girl to get the technically better seat since she herself cared little for the movie and it was Ruby who paid for the tickets.

This time Blake avoided any kind of awkward air lingering between them since as soon as they were seated, the trailers started playing. Trailers and various commercials. It seemed to occupy Ruby enough so that she did not feel as if there was a need to hold a conversation. Besides, they came here to see a movie, talking of any kind would just disrupt that not only for them but for everyone around. Soon the place got packed, taking a short glance around, Blake assumed that all the places were taken. Not that it really mattered. Still, what else was there to do?

The movie was what she expected, loud, containing more special effects than anything actually real in it and was filled to the brim with action. Nothing bad with them, it just wasn't something she really enjoyed. She would in the past, at least on some casual level. She wouldn't understand the plot, although she assumed it was easy enough to just pick up from any movie if this was, in fact, a series, yet she would enjoy it for what it is. Just a big pile of entertainment.

She liked shows and movies like this when she was younger. Well, the ones that served no other purpose but to entertain, not necessarily the superhero type. She would watch cartoons and talk about them with her friends. Later that got replaced with popular shows. It wasn't just for entertainment, if you wanted to keep in the loop, you simply were required to watch those. Still, needed or not, she enjoyed them. Then, somewhere along the line, it all changed. Somewhere in her life journey, she learned that there was no better philosophy then stoicism. Although she wasn't sure if she really was following that. She simply was afraid of getting too high on her emotions, especially happiness.  
It was simple, the higher you got, the more hurt you got once you finally fall. It wasn't anything original, she didn't discover a new way of life with this. Still, she learned it the worst way possible. By experiencing it.  
She knew when it happened, she understood that specific point in her life that turned her into who she was now. It wasn't like before any of that she was never sad or upset. Plenty of times did she feel that. Yet that one time, that one specific point in her existence. It crushed her. It shattered her into pieces that later had to be brought together, allowing her to reborn as the person she was today.  
It wasn't that she was just afraid of happiness, no. That wasn't the case. She didn't trust happiness. Happiness was what lead her into the situation that made her fall in the first place. It led her and then kept her on that path, later morphing into pain that she held onto for the longest of times. Why? Because it was small, systematic pain. It kept her from falling, yet kept her on the edge to remind her of the abyss that awaited her if she ever did.  
As such, she didn't trust happiness. Although, of course, she wasn't in a perpetual state of sadness. Far from it. She simply kept to the small things, the ones she could easily control. She could easily acquire those small happy things and discard them if she needed it. Bigger things? They required effort and responsibility. Something she wasn't afraid of, no, but these two things were meant to build bigger things. Things she did not seek out. Things she actively avoided.

"Blake? Hey, Blake!" She felt her arm being shaken and she glanced at Ruby. "The movie's over. I wanted to accuse you of falling asleep but you just sat there with your eyes open and I could swear you didn't even blink!" The younger girl giggled at her own joke.

Blake blinked and glanced around "I'm sorry, just got lost in my thoughts." She stood up and stretched, from what she noticed with her previous glance around the room, most people were already out, although the room wasn't completely empty. Not yet at least. "Let's get you home before Yang calls the cops." She winked at Ruby, making the girl roll her eyes but smile at the small quip at her older sister.

"Right, or worse, she calls dad."

oooOOOooo

"...then he just pounded him to the ground like that!" Ruby clapped her hands as she retold the events of the movie she just watched.

Blake smiled at that. Not that physical violence made her smile, far from it. No, it was the joy on Ruby's face as she was fueled by all the excitement. "Do you plan on seeing it again with Yang? You won't have to worry about spoilers this time."

This question trimmed down the younger girl's happiness. "No, probably not. Yang will be super busy like always."

"Fair enough, different question then. Would you like to see it with Yang?" Blake wouldn't give up, not this time.

Ruby just shrugged at that. "Does it matter? It won't change the outcome either I want it or not." As Blake wanted to retort with something, Ruby interrupted her even before she could get a chance. "Ugh, what's with you being this oddly persistent and specific about it. Yes, I would like to see it again, this time with Yang. There, happy?" Ruby sent a frown her way.

This hurt a little, why? Blake wasn't sure. Perhaps because it was the first time this kind of feeling was aimed her way from the younger girl. "Then ask her, I think this time she'll find some time for you."

"How would you know this?" Ruby asked suspiciously.

"We talked after you went to your room. I think she'll see it with you if you ask." Blake nodded.

"I don't know, I'd rather not get my hopes up only to get disappointed." Ruby placed her hands behind her head as she glanced at the sky thoughtfully.

"Fine, then do it for me. Since I took my time to make sure you can go see the movie, in return I want you to ask Yang if she'll see the movie with you tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." Blake smirked as she glanced at Ruby, knowing very well the girl did owe her.

Ruby sighed at that. "I don't know..." She paused and groaned. "Fine, I'll ask her. But I'm blaming you if she refuses."

"She won't, don't worry." Blake was sure of that. There was something in Yang's tone earlier today... Well, yesterday technically speaking, that made her believe she genuinely missed spending time with her sister. Besides, once she gets home herself, she will send the blonde a message. One that will increase the probability of her not refusing Ruby's offer. Was this her interfering with someone's else life? Perhaps, but only a little. Besides, she just wanted the two sisters to get along. Something that, for some reason, got disrupted.

The question was simple, what was the cause of this disruption? Was the answer already there, or was it something yet to uncover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. Once I started writing this chapter, it turned out that the original idea seemed better in my head than on paper. So there were a few rewrites. Also, Iceborne on PC happened. The movie thing is based on my only experience with a midnight screening, so if it seems odd for you, that's why.


	5. Rain of Change

It came to no surprise that Blake enjoyed the rain. Like any weather, it had its ups and downs. As long as you were in a place you could enjoy it, it was lovely. As soon as you had to experience the horrible side of any given weather, it became the worst thing.

As such, enjoying some tea in a nearby cafe was considered one of those moments in which she could enjoy rain to its fullest. The place was mostly empty, minus the employee. The tapping of the raindrops against the window was soothing and people outside had better things to do than to stare at the inside of this place. Maybe a brief glance, maybe.

Although she didn't need rain to enjoy the local tea. While a small place, it delivered quality, which was the most important thing for Blake. She cared little for random people, as long as it wasn't disturbing the peace she sought.

Which in itself wasn't that big of a deal. She wasn't necessarily a tea connoisseur. She was merely picky about it. Long ago she stopped drinking soda and she never liked coffee. It came as no surprise that outside of water, tea was the only logical alternative for a beverage of choice. It was just something she could enjoy no matter the time, weather or mood. She could add lemon, honey or milk if there was a need for it or she simply felt like it. She wouldn't go as far as to describe tea as some weird thing that joined in all four elements of nature in order to glorify it as something godly. Besides, couldn't coffee fall under the same label?

While she enjoyed that people didn't glance into the coffee shop, Blake was guilty of doing the exact same thing she disliked. The other way around that is, as in glancing outside through the window at the outside world. Although unlike those imaginary people, she rarely really looked at what was before her. Most of the time her thoughts occupied her mind, making her even more unaware of what was before her. That was with a few exceptions. Such exception being right now, where her eyes noticed something or rather someone familiar and seemingly in distress.

Ruby was standing under an outside roof that led into... Blake never understood what the store was. She always called it a fantasy store, as it was for people who play fantasy board games and things like that. Even then it was based on a brief visit, the only one where she thought she could buy some notebooks and pens.

Blake wasn't sure why she was standing there and without any umbrella. Well, she understood she was hiding from the rain because she had no umbrella, but why did she go out without it in the first place? That was a mystery. She seemed soaked already.

Blake knew what would happen now. It wasn't like she could just ignore the girl. Although that was no longer because she was her best friend's sister. She grew fond of the younger girl. Passionate, determined and a little bit clumsy when it came to life.

Leaving what she owed on the table, with the usual tip, she gathered her belongings ready to leave the cafe. It wasn't that unusual for her to do so, after all over the year she was in this city, she became a regular in this place.

Once outside, she quickly opened her umbrella to protect herself from the rain. It seemed to pour as much as when she went out and it didn't like it would slow down any time soon. Well, there was no reason to ponder the weather, she had someone to save or at least help.

It took a short moment to get to the other side of the street. The younger girl didn't notice her so far, which Blake wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing. "Ruby." She called out as she got close enough to not have to yell for the girl to hear her.

Ruby turned towards her, clearly surprised to see her. "B-Blake? What are you doing here?"

"I was sitting in the cafe on the other side of the street when I noticed you. Where's your umbrella?" Blake wasn't sure what else to ask about. Why was she soaked? The answer was currently rumbling against her umbrella. She wasn't necessarily interested in why she was in this store. As such, there was only one thing she could ask. That being the reason for being ill-prepared for this kind of weather.

"Well... I don't really take any with me." The girl smiled sheepishly. "When I went out it wasn't raining yet and I thought I would get home before anything would start and... Well, here I am."

"You were inside all this time?" Blake's brow rose at her explanation. That meant she had to be for hours inside since it was true that in the morning it wasn't raining, although the dark clouds were already in place.

"Yep." Ruby simply nodded.

"Then why are you soaked?" Blake wanted to cross her arms, but the umbrella in her hand made her change that gesture into simply placing a hand on her hip as she waited for the answer.

"I thought I could run to the bus stop, but... Well, I was too late for the bus I tried to get for and the next one is in almost half an hour from now so... Here I am." Ruby shrugged.

"Why not wait at the bus stop then?" This was getting odd, which was not a new thing whenever it came to Ruby. Another mystery? Perhaps, the question was, did she want to uncover it.

Ruby let a small sigh. "I thought I could get back in since it's such a long time, but..." The younger girl paused. "...I decided against it." She continued, her voice much quieter than before.

"I see." Blake nodded. While her initial idea was to help the girl, what was there that she could do? Borrowing her the umbrella seemed a tiny bit pointless now. The girl was already wet from feet to the top of her head. The company maybe, but she knew very well she was lousy at that herself. Although leaving the girl like this made her feel bad inside.

Perhaps too preoccupied or maybe Ruby tried to hide it, but it came to her attention that the girl was shaking a bit. "You're cold." It wasn't a question, since why else the girl would shake.

"Tiny bit, but it's fine. I'll just run to the bus and be home in no time." The girl tried to grin. "In twenty minutes." She added, her smile slowly fading.

"Alright, I'll keep you company till then if you don't mind. But let's move inside so you won't freeze here." Blake stepped under the outside roof that covered some of the space in front of the doors and was about to reach for the handle of said doors.

"No! I mean, it's fine. I'm fine. There's no need to go in there, really." Ruby's reaction made Blake freeze in place. It wasn't just her suddenly raising her voice, but also stepping in between the doors and Blake.

This ensured Blake that for whatever reason, the girl wanted to avoid being back in the store. Why? Who knew. At this point, Blake would consider the most ridiculous reasons to be true. In the range of possibility of course. What else was there to do? Usually, she wouldn't mind just going along with whatever someone demanded of her in a situation like this. Do they want to freeze? Fine. She was in no position to tell others what is better for them. Yet this soaked, shaking from the cold girl in front of her made her want to do the opposite of that. To find a solution, a way to persuade her to do something to help herself. "Do you have anything planned for today?"

"Huh?" Ruby blinked, but as there was no follow up, she finally answered. "I don't think I do? Why?" She asked, clearly uncertain as to where this new line of dialogue could lead her.

"Then you'll visit me." Blake explained, seeing as the girl was about to say something, she cut her. "It's that, or we'll go inside. Or you'll end up upsetting me if you refuse both of those choices." Emotional blackmail? Sure, why not. It's not like she was trying to get anything out of the girl. If anything, she was doing that for her. Besides, who would care if she got upset or not in the first place? Very few people.

Maybe Ruby was one of them. Either that or she simply considered one of the two first options, the store behind her or Blake's house. Which had to be the case. The younger girl scrunched her face in annoyance, seemingly wanting to say something, most likely a lot of things, but after a moment of hesitation she just let out an annoyed grunt. "That's unfair."

"That's not one of the choices." Blake stated flatly.

"Look, Blake, I don't want to be a bother, alright? I'm fine, really." Ruby started, it didn't take Blake's amazing social skills to understand that the younger girl was being too polite for her own good. Either that, or she hated her guts. Or was shy about visiting, which she didn't quite get. The guts hating she could get behind, but she had no real reason to think that was even a possibility. She already saw when the girl was annoyed or mad at someone.

"You're not. Now choose one. Store or my place." Blake found it odd how motivated she was to conclude this in a way that she desired. It happened from time to time, but usually, it just ended up in her wanting to be left alone. Not actually doing something to prolong her social interactions.

Ruby glanced behind her shoulder at the doors leading to the store. With a heavy sigh, she made up her mind. "Your place."

oooOOOooo

"So you tried to find a group to join and play board games with." Blake began the recap of what she just heard from the younger girl as she walked around the little kitchen area preparing some tea.

"Tabletop." Ruby corrected her, although from what she explained there was little difference for Blake.

"Right, and you assumed they thought you're weird, so you panicked. And ran." Blake finished, while it took quite a bit to tell all this for Ruby, Blake had little to no issues to summarize it in just those two sentences. Three, technically.

"No, I... I noticed they started looking at each other and being polite out of necessity and I told them that I can try some other time because I stopped paying attention to the time and I had to ran for my bus." Ruby explained again, although even if this version was slightly different, it was still the same for Blake. Did Ruby really spend a few hours trying to approach a group of players to ask if she could join, only to assume she had no place playing with them? Aren't places like that specifically for people like that? To find new people to play? Maybe not. This whole situation was starting to give Blake a headache.

"It's fine. Are you feeling better?" Blake asked although she didn't really mean the social situation the girl found herself in previously. She had more basic needs in mind, like warmth. Once they got to her place, Blake made sure to let the girl change and make some warm tea. The plan was to use a hairdryer to dry the girl's clothes and then borrow her one of the few umbrellas that Blake owned. Quite simply, wasn't it?

"I am, thanks. For the tea and clothes and... Well, everything really." Ruby let out a small sigh. While it was clear they were different in physique, Blake couldn't let the girl sit in her wet clothes, nor sit in her underwear or anything crazy like that. As such some sweat pants she had and a random gray shirt was enough to let the girl warm-up and wait till her clothes would get dry. "I didn't mean to... To interrupt whatever it was you were doing."

"I was having a lazy day with nothing to do but to stare outside of a cafe window. I think I'll survive the interruption." Blake chuckled and settled two cups onto the small table in front of her couch where Ruby was currently seated.

"Yeah well... Maybe Yang is right. I'll never manage to get myself anywhere." Ruby's voice sounded so... Defeated. Sad, which was perhaps a new emotion she discovered in the girl. From all she saw so far, this one was perhaps the worst.

As Blake sat down, she reached out to pinch Ruby's shoulder lightly. As the girl jumped, her expression shifting into a mix of annoyance and surprise, Blake ignored it and simply went on with what she wanted to say. "I made yours with honey and lemon. I don't have any cold preventing stuff, so this is the most I can do." Blake frowned at something. "I added extra honey, considering how much sugar you wanted me to add to your tea I kept that in mind."

The tea topic had to distract Ruby, both from her mood and from the pinch, as she smiled lightly. "Thanks." The younger girl reached for her cup. "You really helped me out lately."

"I did? I just went to see a movie with you since it was required for you to not go alone and now I just made sure you wouldn't catch a cold." Blake shrugged. Maybe if she had things to do, this would prove to be some sort of issue, but she hardly had anything to do with her life, at least currently, as such, it seemed like a nonissue to help the other girl out.

"You also talked with Yang about seeing that movie with me. I know you did." Ruby stated and started to blow some cold air at her drink.

This made Blake inhale sharply. Would this turn into an argument? She didn't want to interfere in the first place, deciding to try and do a little bit of nudging behind the scenes, so to speak, but to be found out like this? "Is it bad that I did?"

"I got mad at first when I realized it, but I think it was for the better. It made me realize something." Ruby explained as she smiled sadly.

"That is?" Blake tilted her head. It was an odd direction this conversation has got.

"That things won't go back to how they were." Ruby's morose tone of voice really emphasized what a heavy realization it had to be.

"How so?" Blake had a suspicion, but she didn't want to operate on assumptions. Not when it came to Ruby, the girl was a walking oddity at this point. Not in a bad way of course.

"I figured it out pretty early on. Yang was acting so... Unnatural when she asked me if I wanted to see the movie with her. I shrugged it off since I was happy that she wanted to spend some time with me again." Having her tea cool off enough, the younger girl gave it a testing sip. "Huh, this tastes different." She glanced down at her cup, the beverage had to have enough of an effect on her that she had to comment on it.

"Of course, I told you I added lemon and honey into it." Blake once more could do little more than a shrug, as she reached for her tea.

"No, I mean the tea itself is different. I had lemon and honey tea a few times but it tasted... Different." Ruby frowned.

"Does this one taste worse?" Blake tilted her head. Would their taste in tea be so different as to be on the opposite sides of the spectrum? Was there even a spectrum of tastes when it came to tea?

"No, I think I like it. I actually think, for once, that my tea is too sweet." Was that shock, that Blake heard in Ruby's voice?

"I'll take that as a compliment. I try not to drink any tea you can get at a market. I get mine from professional stores and brew it myself." Blake smiled slightly at that and took a sip from her own cup. "It's being a little bit extra, but it's not that much additional effort nor is it that more expensive. Regardless I think having something nicer to drink excuses all the extra steps and costs."

Ruby chuckled at that. "Guess I did the right thing when I said you shouldn't let me make tea for you the first time we meet. You'd hate me for it."

Blake rolled her eyes. "You're exaggerating."

Ruby giggled at that. "I am, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I can take a joke or two." Blake took another sip. "So what happened next."

"Right." The younger girl let a heavy sigh. "We went to see the movie and once it was done, Yang said she has to go do some stuff and she disappeared."

Blake remembered when she went to see the movie with the girl and she remembered what the girl really wanted to do after the movie. As such, she got what the issue was. Still, there wasn't anything bad to try and look at the bright side of things, right? "She tried to find some time for you."

"She did, and I'm done trying to pretend things will go back to being how they were." Ruby took a bigger sip and settled the cup. "Still, thanks for trying." She turned towards Blake and smiled meekly.

"Don't mention it. Although I should apologize for trying to meddle with your life." It did make Blake feel odd to get caught redhanded. At least the girl wasn't mad, not anymore and she more or less let it slide.

"It's fine, you seem like the type of person to try and help." Ruby commented and leaned back against the couch. Blake had to stop herself really hard from snorting out in laughter. For the past year if not more she was living her own life, not much concerned about others being self-destructive or inflicting misery on themselves with Blake being aware, but not doing much about it. Perhaps if try and help meant asking till the first refusal, then maybe it would be true, Blake being a helpful person. Yet in her own mind, helpful didn't mean to simply ask and shrug.

"Barely." Blake answered. It wasn't like she did much. She offered and it was accepted... Well, maybe except for this specific situation. Although this was different, wasn't it? It was. "Do you often visit that store from before?" Blake asked, wanting to change the topic.

"No, I actually was trying to Uhm... Scout it out if that makes sense." Ruby looked to the side at her own words.

This, of course, piqued Blake's curiosity. It's rare to just want to look around a place and then spend a few hours inside only to run away from it. "What's the motivation?"

"Have you ever felt like you're locked inside your own place? Not literally. Like it's surrounding you in a bad way? Like you have to get out." Ruby's answer caught Blake off guard at first. For two reasons, first being the obvious one, the sudden change of topic. The second was because she did not expect something like this from the younger girl.

"I did. That's how I ended up here." She shrugged, it was a simple answer, but as clumsily as Ruby described it, that's how she initially felt when she decided to pick her current college.

"Right, I don't think Dad will let me get my own place anytime soon. Although if I won't be able to attend to a place of my choice I'll seriously consider running away." Ruby frowned at her own words. As serious as it sounded, Blake was just happy that the previously extinguished fire fueling her motivation was back. It was this odd energy behind it that made Ruby who she was. At least for Blake. "I know it might seem odd but... Do you think I could hang out here from time to time?"

Blake's brow raised at that. "Sure? Wait, does that mean your visit to that store from before was to look for a place like that?"

"Eh, maybe?" Ruby smiled sheepishly at that.

"What's wrong with it? You could try again, no?" Blake tilted her head. Before Ruby could say anything, she continued. "Not that I have anything against you being here. That's not the point of me saying it. There's just not much to do around here, with me not being the best of hosts."

"Right, you're right. I should but... But I don't want to. Not right now." Ruby shook her head and let a small sigh escape her lips. "I just need a place where I could feel safe that's not my home. I'm not saying I want to live here. Just hang out here for a few hours whenever I need to and when I'm allowed that is." Pausing for a moment, the girl continued in a rushed way. "Of course if it's an issue I can find a different place! No biggie."

"What about... What was her name, Weiss right? What about her? Did you talk about this with her?" It was clear for Blake that she had to be the last resort for the girl in terms of a place she could... Well, do whatever it is she wanted to do. Just be at? Maybe. Still, since she had to be the last option, Blake wondered what about the other ones? At least the ones she was aware of.

"About this? Which this are we talking about exactly?" Ruby frowned at that.

"As much as you feel like talking about? At least about finding a place outside of your home." Maybe she could extract some additional information this way. She wasn't sure why and what else was there to learn, but at this point why not?

"Right, Weiss knows about... About my issues but I don't want to bother her. I-I mean I don't want to bother you either! I just... Well, Weiss has a complicated situation in her life and visiting her when I had to was... Awkward enough. Doing so regularly wouldn't really work for me. I don't think it would work for her either." Blake expected there to be a reason, although the last part was a bit ominous.

"What about your school friends?" Blake wasn't sure what to expect, it's not like Ruby ever mentioned any of this, nor did Blake ask about it before.

Ruby let out a deep sigh, leaning forward to set the cup onto the table. "I get it." At Ruby's words, Blake tilted her head. What was there to get? "You could just say you didn't want me around your place." Ruby started to raise, but before she could fully stand up, Blake reached out for her hand and pulled her back.

Ruby's silver eyes looked at her in surprise, just what Blake wanted. "Look." She said firmly. "We won't play like this." After her words, it was to no one's surprise that Ruby started to grow worried and nervous. "I ask all those questions because you have to "get it" that for me it's odd you want to hang around here. We haven't known each other that long. It's only natural to be curious." Blake paused for a moment, allowing for all this to sink in. "Do you understand now?" There was a nod from Ruby. Blake wanted to let go of the younger girl's hand, but suddenly she grew oddly worried. As if the girl would run off if she did. She shook her head at that thought and finally released Ruby's hand from her grip. If she wanted to run, she had the right to do so, it was none of her business. "So I want to know, why?" Blake wouldn't let this linger any longer.

Ruby's gaze lowered as she looked at her own hand. She leaned forward and for whatever reason, Blake's heart skipped a beat as a sudden fear overcame her. Fear that the girl would actually run away. It lasted for a second, as the realization that Ruby would not, in fact, run away, settled in. "You have a point. We haven't known each other that long but you helped me out so far. It wasn't anything minor either. Not for me. You understood or... Well, you gave me another chance when I messed up. Even now you went out of your way to help me." Ruby chuckled dryly. "I know that..." She paused and inhaled sharply through her nose. "I assume you prefer to keep to yourself. You prefer to not talk too much and all that." The girl hugged herself. "I just don't have anyone else to go to with this type of request. I would probably not ask you if not for today's odd events." As Ruby grew silent, her eyes closed.

Blake wasn't sure if the girl would start to cry or not. Hopefully not. Without even thinking she reached out towards her, but her eyes stayed vigilant, noticing the motion, she froze in place. What should she do? Hug the girl? No, that... That wouldn't be the right thing. Not for both of them. She got her answer, even if the cost of this was... Well, making the girl sad. She moved one of her hands to pat the girl's shoulder. "I said it before and I mean it. You can hang around whenever you want to. Just send me a message before, just in case I'm not home or..." Or what? Her being busy? Since when was she busy. "Or I'm occupied by something."

"Right." Ruby's answer wasn't very convincing and Blake understood that. She was the reason for it this time.

With nothing else that came to her mind that she could do, She decided to do what she did best in life. Escape. "I'll go get your clothes dry." She said as she got up. "And then I can walk you home."

oooOOOooo

For once it wasn't the past that occupied Blake's mind. No, it was the present. Perhaps it was the past? Technically it was. Yet she wasn't simply existing among her memories. She was being active, as odd as that made it sound. She was thinking about it, pondering possibilities and reasoning their outcomes. Laying in her bad, she couldn't help but feel tired. Which was odd considering how little did she do today. Go to a cafe, drag a girl into her house, dry her up and make sure she gets home. It shouldn't be that tiring to do, and yet Blake felt exhausted.  
It wasn't what was troubling her, far from it. If how she felt physical was her biggest issue right now, she would be pretty happy. No, the issue was different. The issue was her behavior as of late, especially towards the same girl she dragged and dried up. Ruby. She wasn't sure why. If she was slowly acting this way towards everyone or at least a few people, this would make sense. She was moving on from what happened in the past. That would be a great thing. Yet that wasn't the case. It felt the same. There was just one exception from the rule, and considering everything else, it always felt odd. It always felt out of place. It felt wrong.  
Now, the conclusion was simple. It all came with today's words. Ruby's situation was similar to what she went through, although, thank goodness, in a less roughly manner. It's not like what happened to her and what was currently happening to Ruby was the same, far from it. Yet it had the same denominator. Change.  
It was a realization that things change, which in itself brings said change, that created a chain reaction in her life. The same would happen to Ruby. Realizing that things change would bring that into her life. The question was, where would it lead her? Blake wasn't sure.  
This lead to the explanation of her behavior towards the girl. It was understanding. The girl might be different from herself, but it didn't mean she wouldn't go through the same things she went through. She might simply act differently.  
Her phone meowing made her glance at it. While rarely, she sometimes didn't set her phone into vibration only mode. The meow being a text message.

" _I know I said it a lot, but thanks for everything today."  
_

She wasn't surprised to read the message, it was of course from Ruby.

 _"It's fine, it gave me something to do with my time. I hope you're feeling alright."_ Blake wondered if she really cared or if she simply asked because she knew she had to maintain some form of conversation with the girl without her starting to act anxious.

_"I'm not. I hope you're not mad at me though."_

Was it odd that Blake wasn't annoyed? Did she get used to how the girl was by now? Perhaps. _"If anything you have the right to be mad at me."_

_"Me?! What for?"_

Blake couldn't help but smile as she tried to imagine how hard the younger girl tried to reach to imagine a reason for being mad. It would probably lead Ruby to think about how she talked to Yang about seeing that movie with her sister. _"I was a bit harsh with you today, at least twice. I'm sorry. I'm bad with people."_

_"It's fine. I think I needed that, and don't worry. I'm bad with people too."_

Blake let out a sigh, perhaps that was true that they both were bad with people, sadly for completely different reasons. The question was, where and how far two people that are bad in interacting with other people would get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to assure everyone that I read all the reviews and comments I get under my stories. I know I don't respond often, but it's mostly because I'm not sure what to say. I often find myself writing something and then just deleting it because it felt like I'm either spoiling something, I'm blabbering or I'm just acting like a copy/paste bot. I am thankful for all the reviews and simple comments.
> 
> I know that a lot of people are concerned about Blake and Ruby's relationship, although at this point I'm not sure those people are reading this far. Regardless if that's the case, I know. This is supposed to be a slowburn.
> 
> Another thing is that I am well aware of how my characters behave. It's intentional nine times out of ten. I know it's not a revolutionary concept, but putting characters in different situations, makes them act differently. It's sometimes difficult to assess how a character would act in a specific situation, but I try to use whatever source material we have and use it. You might disagree, which is fine. Nothing wrong with that. We all have our vision of certain things. If you want to discuss something, just nudge me. I'll gladly talk about this stuff and won't get butthurt if I'm proven wrong or if we disagree on stuff.
> 
> I know it might sound like I'm posting this in my defense as if someone said something that provoked this. I'm not, and I apologize for this, as it has little to do with this chapter. I just feel bad that I don't respond to anything because I just stare helplessly at the screen wondering what to say to not end up sounding like a douchebag or a bot or something negative. Insert your own thing here.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story so far and enjoyed this chapter.


	6. Flying close to the sun

"She wants to hang out at your place?" Yang sounded as if Blake just told her something ludicrous. Something that was hard to believe, but no longer funny yet at the same time not exactly ridiculous.

"That's what she told me." Blake shrugged. They were currently doing the same thing. Hanging out at Blake's place. Yang's dad would not make it to dinner, so the sisters agreed to just have some form of takeout or ordered food or whatever they wanted. Initially, they wanted to head out to Yang's place and have some Pizza, together with Ruby, but surprisingly enough, the younger girl said she had different plans in regards to her food today. Yang was, of course, surprised and a little suspicious. As for her? Well, she had her suspicions. She just hoped the girl really had plans and wouldn't just force herself to spend this time alone. Eating alone without getting sad took time and experience.

"She's not being a bother, right? I mean..." Yang paused, which made Blake tilt her head just enough to look at the blonde. She had a conflicted expression on her face.

"Would you tell her to stop if I said she did?" Blake couldn't help but ask. It was a bit mean to do so, but in a way, Yang was implying that. So it was her fault, to begin with.

"Maybe." Came a simple, dry reply.

Perhaps this didn't occur to Blake before, because she lacked context. Maybe she didn't want to know of the context before? But regardless, now that it was there, it was clear that both of them were experiencing change. Living in the new, with ticks of the old. Truly an awful way of living, at least for some. "Don't worry, she's not. And if she was I could just tell her off myself."

Blake glanced at the table where the half-eaten food was. This was the neat part of a take out, outside of not having to cook, the ability to just eat it at your own leisure. Although certain food didn't taste as good cold, a lot of them still kept part of its quality. Some even claimed that cold take out food or fast food didn't taste better or worse, but it grew a distinct, different taste of equal quality. Some even preferred such. Like with pizza for example.  
Blake, on the other hand, didn't like take-outs to such a degree that she could place herself in any of those camps. Pizza was fine from time to time, same with any other kind of take out or fast food, as long as it wasn't french fries. She hated fast-food fries, they always had a dry taste to them. Dry and salty. Otherwise? She was fine. What was laying on top of the table was a bunch of sushi. Yes, that was her favorite and no, that was not her choice. Surprisingly enough, it was Yang who proposed it and Blake had to make sure numerous times that is what the blonde wanted. Yang wasn't a big fan of fish-based dishes. Sushi was one of them, as most people assumed it had to be with raw fish. Yang usually preferred to get something more common. Burger or a pizza.  
Why this then? Blake had her suspicions. There were three possibilities. One, Yang wanted to offer something in return for taking Ruby to that movie. Two, it tied with the different suspicion, that Yang was, for whatever reason, concerned about her. Three, Blake was paranoid and Yang simply wanted to try something else, which could happen to everyone from time to time.

"Still I wonder why. She really likes you huh?" Yang smirked, as she commented. Blake wasn't sure if the girl was playing along, was in denial or was genuinely in the dark about this.

"It's because of you." Blake answered, was she confronting her? No, that wasn't really it. She simply felt the need to paint the picture as it was. Truth is a bitter remedy, but it makes it that much healthier, no?

"Me? What did I do?" Yang frowned her playful mood from just a moment ago disappeared in an instant.

"If I am to believe the source, you abandoned her." Blake remarked casually.

"I did not fucking abandoned anyone!" Blake turned fully to face Yang, not only surprised by her sudden outburst but frightened. The blonde raised up from her lying position and sent her a furious look. It had to show on Blake's face, because Yang calmed down, cowering her face within her hands. "I just... I went through this so many times, I'm just tired of it."

"I didn't mean to pull a nerve." Blake shook her head. With how calm the other girl always seemed about it, she assumed Yang wouldn't take her words at such face value. "Yang, what's going on between you two?"

"It takes a family drama to make you care huh?" Yang smirked as she laid back again.

"Ouch, but I guess I deserve that one." Blake winced at Yang's words.

With a sigh, Yang covered her eyes with her hands. "I'm sorry. I know you care in your own little way. Hence why it's so surprising to see you care this much in this particular instance."

"Maybe its because it concerns my best friend and her younger sister, even thought about that?" Blake was glad that they were back in this sort of mood, just going back and forth about nonsense, even if it was related to something problematic.

"You're growing soft on me, Blakey." still While in the same tone, it was followed by a sigh. "The thing with Ruby is problematic because in a way I can't blame her, but at the same time it's not my fault either." The girl began, going back to the topic at hand. Blake was glad that she didn't want to hide it, since as unique as it was, she was curious about it. "We were always in the same school, sure she's younger but at that point in life, it didn't really matter. She always stuck around, you know, the younger sister of the entire group. It was cute and I don't mean anyone was condescending towards her. We were all friends." There was a pause, Blake wasn't sure if she was to ask for the other part of the story, or was Yang simply collecting the bits together. Soon the blonde continued. "We started growing up. We had our plans for the future, a lot of us moved around the country for various reasons. Some, as harsh as it sounds, had no more reason to stick around us, school stuff being the glue for us. I mean, I get that, I don't mean it was bad. It's how stuff works, right? You grow up and you move on." Yang's lips formed a thin line after that. Blake could only wonder how deep this issue could go. "You know about the engineering stuff, right? It began shortly before my graduation." Yang turned to her side to face Blake. "One of our then friends was into that sort of thing, not engineering but the whole social stuff and when I told her about Ruby's plans she started saying all those scary things. You know, not just possibilities, but scary numbers and statistics and all that jazz." At that point, Yang decided to sit up, as if telling this story made her restless to some degree. "I got concerned, I did some quick online research I talked with dad and we confronted Ruby about this. Now, before you say anything, we didn't go out and tell her no because of reasons. We just approached her about this and if she's sure she can handle herself." Yang leaned forward, now sitting in a very slouchy position. "It was about the same time Weiss started visiting to teach her math. That girl was either a blessing or a curse because she lit that fire inside Ruby to move forward no matter what." Yang chuckled. "I think it's a blessing. See I don't want her to lose her dream, but I want her to be ready to achieve that. So..." Yang paused, it was different from the previous pauses she made as if she was considering something on a much deeper level. "I decided that me getting into a college would be that, you know. To show her that things change. New friends and all that. Which was awful timing, since she quit her online game to focus on studying, as nudged by Weiss. That meant she became extra clingy, which in return meant that my attempts had more... violent results."

Blake tilted her head, like a curious animal. This was reaching deep levels, perhaps too deep for Blake, considering she was an outsider. "You decided to put a line between "your" life and family life to help Ruby?"

"Guess that sums it up." Yang groaned, leaning back once more. "I don't know. We grew up, we're no longer kids. I just... I mean I love her, she's my sister, but things won't be the same forever, you know? Maybe this engineering thing isn't even the reason I'm doing it. Maybe there is no reason, maybe it just happened and I'm giving this some form of... I don't know, excuse."

Since from her sitting on the floor position Blake couldn't reach too much up, she opted to pat the other girl's lap. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to dig up your frustrations."

"Meh, that's fine. If anything you have the right idea." Yang laid back on the couch as she did previously, a clear sign she once more was relaxed or at least attempted to get back into that mood. "I forgot that I can't handle keeping all that steam inside me."

Blake shrugged, was this just an excuse to make her feel better or was Yang genuinely glad? Did it matter? Not really. Blake could just take it at face value and not question it. "I told you before, while I don't talk much I can still listen if you want to say anything. Vent, as people call it."

"Mmm..." Yang nodded, more to herself than anything. "I should take you up on that more often. You know there was a time I had anger issues? It was related to me keeping all that emotional stuff inside me."

"What kind of anger? You beat people up?" Yang was full of energy and she never let anyone push her around. But imagining her in a physical fight? That would be a very interesting sight to behold.

"I guess, it all turned out that I was having issues because of what happened in my family." Yang let out a sad sigh. This was going to be a very deep evening, wasn't it? Deep and emotional. "Remember that awkward situation when you asked about my mom?"

Blake frowned, her mouth forming into a small o as she did in fact, remind herself of what Yang was referring to. "I do actually."

"Yeah, my mom left not long after having me and then there's Ruby's mom and... Well, her death." There was a pause, maybe a moment of silence? There were plenty of possibilities for why the blonde went silent at that exact moment. Blake knew all of those were reasonable, as such there was no point in questioning any of them. "Anyway, my brain talked itself into believing it was because of me. I know that in hindsight it's extremely stupid. I mean maybe my mom, but Ruby's? I don't think she wanted to escape because of me and the only way was... Yea. It's stupid and really selfish of my old self to think that." Yang shook her head.

"Deep down we are selfish creatures, no need to feel bad about it." Blake shrugged.

"Maybe, but isn't a point of being a human to escape those animalistic instincts? Regardless, I started keeping everything inside, I was afraid that if I complained people would start leaving, you know, abandoning me. So... I did. Which was a bad idea."

"Is this the part you started beating people up?" Blake asked with a smirk. She didn't intend to make Yang mad, she just wanted to make sure the mood wouldn't drop into a too depressing one. There was nothing worse than a sad Yang.

The blonde just rolled her eyes. "Yes, that was when I started beating up on people. As it turns out I'm not good at keeping stuff inside. While the general consensus is that it's not good at all, it was even worse for me."

Blake frowned at that. "But wait, you don't mean like... I mean..." What she wanted to ask couldn't even properly formulate inside her brain, let alone become a sentence she could say out loud.

Yang had to catch up with what she really wanted to ask, perhaps she could read her better? Or just got that question a few times already. "No, nothing towards Ruby or my dad, well outside of the usual teenage bull. Mostly school and towards other kids."

"I won't lie, I'm curious how this all concludes." Blake leaned her head back to rest it against the couch, tilting it towards the other girl.

Yang grinned at her words. "Oh did I get the full attention of the stone-faced Blake? Well, it feels like I should stop here and let that curiosity blossom some more, no?"

While Blake didn't expect it, she quickly adapted to it. "Oh, alright. In that case back to cats." Blake nodded and took her phone back into her hand.

"Hey! Come on, I'm not finished yet." Yang sat up with a grimace.

Blake completely ignored it, as she reached with the phone's screen towards the blonde. "So on a scale from adorable to diabetes, how would you score this one?" Meeting a hard glare from the blonde, Blake couldn't help but giggle. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Although you're the one who started it."

"Yes, yes. I deserve it." Yang shook her head. "You're so cruel, you know that?"

"The stone-faced Blake, that's me." It was a stupid thing, both this exchange and the term stone-faced Blake. It all started in college, it's how people sometimes referred to her behind her back. It wasn't long before she learned that, and if she had to be honest? She didn't care much. It wasn't wrong nor insulting. She rarely allowed for her thoughts to show, unless she wanted to. They had all the rights to start calling her that.

"To go back and to make a short story short, it took some time before one of the shrinks actually took it seriously and started asking me about different things than the other ones. Not all at once. We talked about all sorts of stuff, but he always had a section talking about my past and things related to that. At one point he concluded and... Well, the things I just told you were what he told me and my dad." Yang stretched as she finished.

"You believed him?" Blake couldn't help but ask. She didn't want to question a professional, but mental stuff was always... Iffy for her.

"It made sense and after that, we had some additional work together which for the first time worked, so I can't really complain, even if he was a bit off. Or completely off." Yang shrugged as she responded.

"You still seeing him?" Not sure what to say, Blake asked.

"The psycho? Nah, I should, but I'm not. I know, not very responsible of me. If I ever have an issue I'll just go see him again." Blake suspected as much, there was no time frame, of course, so she wasn't sure when exactly this happened. Yet, Yang never mentioned visits like this.

"Why not? You thought you had it all figured out?" Blake tilted her head.

"Time and money, really. I have it under control so there's that. So till I decide I'm not anymore, I'm fine without having to go there." Yang grinned, was that pride? Maybe. Blake was a bit envious, to get it all dealt with and be free or at least semi-free. No such freedom for her. Not yet, at least.

What should Blake do now? In regards to this sudden topic, that is. Well, it never hurt to do one thing. "I see, thanks for telling me. I know it's not easy talking about stuff like this, at least now I know the story from both sides." The question was, what did it mean? It was obvious that anyone, after hearing both sides, could have reasons to side with whoever. There were reasons for and against. What Blake hoped for, was some form of truth in the middle. Was there any? She was afraid there weren't, which would complicate things.

"Nah, don't mention it. Maybe one day you'll open up a bit yourself in return, huh?" Although it was clear Yang was joking, Blake was aware of the little truth hidden in there. It wasn't the first time Yang would try to plant a little seed like that into some topic similar to this one.

"I am open with you. I'm just plain and you talked yourself into believing that there's more." It was her usual answer. She preferred to stick to one version since if something was around for long enough, it might as well become reality.

"Yes, yes, one day I'll make you spill the beans. You just wait." At Yang's words, Blake had to keep herself from smiling bitterly. Those would be some hard to swallow beans, that's for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a short chapter which I hope is not a big issue. I try not to pad my stuff out too much. Mostly because it always ends up longer than it has to be, and to my surprise, this chapter came out a bit short.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Engineering your future, today.

As she heard the knock on the door, Blake stood up from the couch and opened them. She didn't have to check who that was, as this situation was previously arranged, just as Blake wanted it to be. "Hey Ruby, come on in." Saying this, Blake stepped to the side, allowing the younger girl to walk inside

"Thanks for having me." Ruby said as she stepped inside. "Where should I put my coat? We skipped that part last time, so I'm not sure." Ruby said as she took off her backpack, although she kept it close to her leg as if to take as little space as possible.

"Wherever you see fit, I don't have any kind of code of conduct. Really, make yourself at home." Blake shrugged and went towards the kitchen. Since she was a practical person, she waited for Ruby to come over, if only to have two reasons to get up. Why get up twice, when you can get up once and have the same amount of work done? "Want something to drink? I was going to make myself some tea." She offered with a smile.

"Tea? No, no, it's fine. I remember you mentioned that your tea is sort of expensive, right? I don't want to leech off of you or anything." Ruby responded, still standing in the middle of the room, and if Blake had gathered any experience in the younger girl's body language, she was troubled by something. Not hard to guess what that was.

"If that's the only reason, then I'll make two cups." Blake shrugged once more, she wasn't going to play along. If there was no definitive refusal, she might as well do it. Not like this stuff was some rarity. "You know, you can relax and such. You did come here to do that, no?" Going step by step with her little tea ritual, Blake had enough time to glance over her shoulder at the girl.

"Right! Right, of course. I just... I'm not sure how much space I can occupy without being a bother, is all." Ruby smiled faintly, rubbing her neck.

"I just want a path towards the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. As long as I can get to those places without an issue, do whatever. Oh, and the entrance." It was odd for Blake to set any kind of rules inside her house. Yang wasn't keen on asking, while polite and reserved at first, the blonde quickly grew accustomed to the place and to the fact she can treat it as her place. Respect included.

"Got it." Ruby saluted and looked around the room, Blake assumed it was to find a good spot for... Something. For what? She wasn't sure. That was a good point, what did Ruby need space for? Reading? Playing some kind of game? Playing with her phone? What exactly did Ruby come here for? As these and more possibilities crossed her mind, she finished preparing the tea. Slowly walking towards the small coffee table, she noticed that Ruby settled for the floor, taking out a few books and a notebook.

"Last time you said something about your tea being too sweet, so try to not go overboard. The tea isn't a big deal, but I'd rather have you enjoy it for what it is, instead of just drinking sugar." She saw a smile and a nod from the younger girl, which was enough for Blake. Both in terms of tea and Ruby settling in, if there even could be any settling in. She came here for a few hours at best. "I'll bring you some pillows and I'll leave you to... Whatever it is you'll do."

oooOOOooo

It's not that Ruby's presence was a nuisance. Far from it, if anything it was the opposite. She wasn't loud, wasn't doing anything obnoxious nor was she some kind of high maintenance guest. No, none of those things. There was something else, that troubled Blake in regards to Ruby being here. Something stupid, yet something so primal that it couldn't be simply dismissed.

Blake was curious.

Not just curious, not like always. Usually, when she was curious, she could push that to the side. She could make whatever was before her less interesting. Now, to counterbalance all that, it's not like Ruby was her center of attention. Far from it. It was just... Irking her at the back of her mind. Especially since the girl, while not loud, had a habit of mumbling to herself and her little spot was filled with a few books and some notes that if she didn't know better, belonged to a mad scientist. Who wouldn't be curious at that point?

With a sigh, she decided that she had enough. Settling her phone down, she glanced at Ruby "What are you working on? School project?"

"Huh?" Ruby froze in her spot for a brief second and glanced her way slowly, her neck moving more like that of a machine than a living person. Once her silver eyes were allocated to Blake, she took a second to ensure she heard correctly. "Me? Uh, no, no. It's... It's not for school." She shook her head but otherwise did not continue, even after Blake gave her a moment.

"What is it then?" Blake wouldn't let go that easily, not when this girl managed to irk her to this degree, not intentionally, but still.

"Just... You know. Stuff." Ruby shrugged, her eyes glancing at the floor.

"If it's a secret, then fair enough. Although you're not doing a good job if you're displaying it like this in front of me." It was Blake's turn to shrug. While curious, she wouldn't push past this point if the girl decided she would be adamant about not telling.

"It's just... I don't want to bore you, is all. It's nothing super exciting or anything." Ruby seemed... Disheartened, for lack of a better term. It didn't take long for Blake to understand, or at least have a theory about this. Considering how the girl could be about things she liked, if she did enjoy whatever it is she was doing right now, she had to, at its initial phase, blow all that excitement in other people's faces and get a bucket of cold water dumped onto her head. By that, of course, it meant people told her it was boring or at best did not share her excitement and the girl had to assume it was bad to share those things with others. While there could be plenty of reasons, Blake could see this being the most probable cause, too many things added up.

With that in mind, she sat up and stretched. "Let's say I'm bored enough and I already asked, which means I walked into this myself, even if it's boring. So what are you planning out here?" Blake had no idea if this was a plan to anything, but regardless if she was right or wrong, it would be a potential spark for Ruby to either correct her or hit the nail on the head and make the girl more eager to talk. Blake liked such gambles, a win-win situation no matter what. At least with nothing to lose.

With a sigh, Ruby shrugged again. It was a gesture well known to Blake, it was to remain nonchalant, even if fakely so. "I'm trying to make my own electric motor, basically."

"Oh." Was all that Blake initially said, which clearly didn't sit well with the younger girl. "So like... An engine of sorts?"

"Sort of? I mean, when I looked it up, there were different sources trying to establish the semantic difference between the two and I even stumbled upon a few different definitions, that while sort of similar to each other, we're kind of different? So I decided I'm just too stupid to understand them." Ruby let out a deep sigh. "I'm trying to make a machine that would convert electric energy into a mechanical one, in case you don't agree with me calling it a motor." It was clear to Blake that Ruby was being extra defensive about it, which Blake for once didn't mind. At least it made the girl talk a bit freely and she actually learned something. Maybe.

Blake knew at that point she had to be careful about this, at least till Ruby knew she could openly talk about her stuff. "I know it might seem like an odd and a very general question, but why do you want to make one?" Doing everything she could, even if it could be seen as exaggeration, Blake tilted her head for extra curious points. If Ruby sees it as sarcasm, she could always bounce the ball back to regain any lost initiative in this weird discussion.

Ruby looked among the few books she brought and the loose papers scattered across the floor, clearly more so to buy herself some time than anything. "There's a long version but I could just give you the short and sweet one if all the babbling from me started to bore you." The redhead offered.

"No, hit me with the detailed one." Blake shook her head. Perhaps the more she knew about certain motivations of Ruby, the better she could judge the girl's actions. Why? She wasn't sure, but it seemed like a reasonable thing at the moment.

"Well..." Ruby paused, gathering her thoughts. "I do those things where I dismantled toys, electric toys and tried to put them back together and see if they would work. After that I tried to dismantle various toys and try to make something bigger out of them, that happened when I got older and I was allowed to borrow some tools, even power tools at some point." There was another pause, as the girl looked through the papers on the ground once more, although this time it seemed she was looking for something specific. That was confirmed once she grabbed one of them, although she didn't seem to pay much attention to it once it was in her lap. "I won't lie it got a bit boring, because of those... motors, let's call them, in those toys, weren't really powerful. Which was given, considering they were just simple toys. I could get something more expensive but that would cost and I'm not rich to afford that." The girl frowned. "Maybe if I get a job." She shook her head. "Anyway, I decided that I could try to make my own. Even if it would fail, I could at least try, right? I mean I did those small things, like those little experiments they sometimes do in physics with those simple battery-powered motors, but never anything... Bigger. Not super big, just big enough to maybe make something more meaningful." The girl took a deep breath, releasing it after a moment.

Blake decided it was a good time to give the girl a moment of break. "So is this project the... The motor itself, or is the real project the thing you'll use this motor for?"

Ruby opened her mouth to answer, but closed it after a moment, as no words left her mouth, after which a frown appeared on her face. "I'm not sure."

"But right now you're trying to make a working motor?" Blake glanced among everything collected in the close vicinity of the younger girl. It didn't help, as she had no idea what all those books meant nor what the numbers on the various sheets of papers meant.

"I guess, so for now I'm just doing this. Depending on how successful I get with it, I might plan something out to use it for." Ruby glanced at the paper on her lap. "I thought at first the most difficult thing would be acquiring materials, but no. Even the tools I can ask my uncle and he knows someone who has the things I would need. As it turned out, the most difficult thing is all this math stuff." Ruby groaned in annoyance. "Since I want to make it a bit bigger than what you find in cheap toys, I need to make everything work correctly, to do that, I need to account for everything. The power, the materials, the size of this thing, the power source. Everything." The redhead continued to complain.

Blake raised a brow at that. "But you're not making an airplane, right? You don't have to make everything perfect."

"I know!" Ruby sat up, her reaction was so energetic and sudden that Blake thought the girl was actually about to stand up. "It's exactly what I said to Weiss, and you know what? She slammed her hand and protested, telling me that this isn't just about making the thing, it's about slowly making myself get used to having to be perfect." Ruby paused and scratched the back of her head. "Actually she said it more... Smart, but that was the gist of it. At least it's what I got out of it." After which she just released a deep sigh. "I mean, she's sort of right, right? I mean, it's not just about making this thing, it's about going through the process correctly." Ruby's silver eyes lingered on Blake as if she actually hoped for some answer.

Blake frowned, not eager to give an ill-conceived opinion. She understood what Weiss had in mind with this and while there could be an argument that this was just to test the capabilities of being able to make something, and not if that something would work, aiming for something in a long run like this was wise. Deciding on her answer, she nodded. "I think she's right if it's something you plan on doing in the future, the earlier you start developing certain habits, the better."

Ruby released a breath that she was holding as she waited for her answer. Why? Blake wasn't sure. It's not like her opinion mattered much. At least this Weiss person seemed to be smart enough to tutor others. Blake? She could maybe not get in the way. That was the best she could do to help. "Yeah, I figured. I just wanted some second opinion. Weiss can be... Extreme, if that makes sense. All or nothing, you know, that type of deal."

Blake chuckled at that. "I can imagine, yes." Stretching herself, she got up. "I think it's the perfect time for a break and a snack."

"Snack?" Blake couldn't help but laugh at Ruby's reaction. If the girl had any kind of animal ears, they would stand at attention after the word snack.

"Yes, I got some biscuits and generic cookies. They go well with tea. You want some?" Blake asked as she moved behind the kitchen island, as she looked around, trying to decide on what type of plate to serve the aforementioned food.

"W-Well... Do you have..." Before Ruby could finish, Blake cut her off.

"Milk? I Do. I'll be sure to pour you a glass, no worries." For all her self control, Blake couldn't help but laugh as she saw pure relief on the younger girl's face after that.

oooOOOooo

Was Ruby the perfect guest? Far from it. She was a good guest to have due to the flaws she had in terms of being a guest. Flaws that were easy to forget or ones that could be looked over. There simply existed far more annoying things that a person could have, in terms of guest traits, that more often than not annoyed a host. These traits, when compared to Ruby, were minuscule at best.

It all got revealed when they sat down to crunch on some snacks. Ruby simply did not believe in crumbs. For her, they did not exist. They were something that people believed in because they needed some form of comfort whenever they vacuumed. Like their efforts weren't being wasted. As such, watching her eat was quite entertaining. There was something to be said about people who had this level of commitment and joy out of the simplest of things in life. Sadly, like any good entertainment event, it left a big mess behind.

Was Blake mad? Hardly. Sometimes you gotta pay the price and she still had her hand vacuum somewhere laying around. It would take a moment to clean the mess. Besides, Blake didn't want to distract Ruby. From cookies? Well, that too. But right now, far more intriguing was the fact that the girl seemed to text with someone for a bit now.

When that first came up, Blake assumed it was Yang. Although from all the experience she had of the two girls, it would leave the redhead annoyed to some degree. Which was suspicious, but then she just thought it was some information that had little impact on Ruby's life. Yang's theory became even less believable the more messages the girl received and sent. Blake was curious, even if she knew she would be a bit nosey. Still, considering the girl and her behavior with strangers or new people in general, she just wanted to make sure everything was under control. "You texting Yang?"

At Blake's question, Ruby had to take a moment to even understand that something was asked of her. Understandable considering the lingering silence. "Huh? Oh, no, it's... Just some people from my school." Ruby smiled. Blake noticed the pause the girl made.

"Friends?" Blake smiled, for whatever reason, she was hopeful for that.

"Well... I can't say we're friends. Acquaintances? Is that the word?" Ruby frowned thoughtfully.

"Mmm... Still, good enough." She smiled, there were a few more questions she could have asked, but decided to not bother her with it. Again, she was simply glad Ruby was making some form of effort with her social life, she had no intention to pry into any aspect of the younger girl's life.

"You think so?" Ruby's question caught Blake off guard. There was something about it, the way she asked it. As if the girl herself wasn't sure if it was good or not.

"Yeah, nothing bad in having friends. Even if they aren't as close friends, friends are still friends." Blake shrugged.

"Well... Those are some girls that always invited me over for various stuff. I always refused because of my game I quit or other reasons nowadays. But after that... Rainy day, I thought why not say yes and see what happens." It was Ruby's turn to shrug.

Blake was a bit off-put by how indifferent the girl seemed. If anything, she expected her to be... What? Anxious? At least worried. There were a lot of things she expected, but not this neutral behavior. "And what happened?"

"They were surprised but... I guess happy? I'm not sure if it was a fake pretend smile they had or a genuine. I'm not good with people, so I have a hard time guessing when someone might be fake or not." Ruby let out a sigh. "Still, they invited me for some shopping. They said they wanted to um... Check my style, as one of them put it."

Blake chuckled, it seemed odd, but maybe that was just right for someone like Ruby. "I'm sure they'll enjoy your fun side."

"M-My fun side?" If the younger girl was indifferent up till this point, now she became how Blake expected her to be earlier. Frightened. "What do you mean by my fun side?" That initial fear getting forged into worry in an instant.

"Can't tell, otherwise you'll get self-conscious about the way you act." Blake shook her head.

"But now I'll get extra self-conscious about it!" Ruby whined and sent her a glare. "Ugh... You can be so mean sometimes." The redhead crossed her arms in annoyance.

Blake just smirked at that. "I am an awful person, I know."

"You're not." Blake's brow raised as she heard that. Before she could question that, Ruby continued. "What about you? When do you meet up with your friends?"

"Whenever Yang is free and wants to hang out." Blake shrugged. There wasn't a set time for when she met up with the girl. Especially nowadays, Yang seemed to be everywhere.

"No, I mean like... Other friends. Not just Yang." Blake could notice how Ruby leaned forward a bit and looked at her from a better angle.

"I don't really have any other friends outside of Yang and you." Blake could see the other girl smile and turn her head away. Was it embarrassing to hear that she was her friend? To some degree, she was, no? Just like she commented before. Not every friend had to be as close as others.

Still, after a moment, which was a time required for the other girl to regain her composure, she once more glanced at her with a worried look. "Why not?"

"Because I don't need them." Blake stated coldly.

Ruby looked shocked at her response, most likely not expecting something like that. "O-Oh, r-right, of course." After a moment of awkward silence, the redhead stood up. "I um, I'll go back to my thing, since it's still a few hours before I have to leave for dinner." With that, she moved to her little spot on the ground.

Blake held a sigh, she didn't mean to make it sound that way. At the same time, she didn't want Ruby to pry at her from that angle. Still, while she considered being mean in a playful way not as bad, she disliked being legitimately mean to the girl. At least she didn't want to just head back home, right?

oooOOOooo

As they entered Ruby's house, Blake took it upon herself to announce them. "Yang? I brought your sister back." At her words, the girl in question, that is Ruby, glanced up at her in a weird way.

Yang's head peeked from behind the corner. "Neat, just in time." She said and emerged from the kitchen. "Hope she wasn't too much of a bother?" The blonde asked as she patted Ruby's head.

Recognizing a good joke, Blake decided to join in on the fun, as she reached to ruffle the youngest girl's hair. "She was no trouble at all."

Ruby, having both her hair and feelings toyed with for a moment too long, slapped their hands away and huffed. "I Don't need a babysitter! Hmf..." With that she stormed off, walking around Yang and quickly moving up the stairs.

Blake, while initially amused, felt a bit bad. She didn't mean to scare the girl off. "Think she'll stay mad?" She glanced at the blonde.

"Ruby? Nah, she gets its a joke. She just went up to change. Probably." Yang shrugged. "Anyway, feel free to hang around at least until dad comes back."

"I don't know, I just wanted to walk Ruby home and get back." Blake glanced at the door behind her, tempted to leave before Yang would persuade her otherwise.

"And do what? Blake, it's fine, I'll let you go once Dad comes back. For now? Just feel free to hang around." As if it was already decided, Yang moved back towards the kitchen. "Want something to drink?"

With a defeated sigh, she shook her head. Not at the proposal, but at the fact that her will was being molded more and more these days. "Sure, juice if you have any."

"Fancy." Yang grinned. "I'll bring you a glass in a moment." Before Blake could say anything, Yang was already gone.

Shrugging, she did what she was told and sat down. That was part of her hanging around. She wasn't a dog to sit on command. As random thoughts started to cloud her mind, she heard a voice from the kitchen. "How long till you're back?" There was a short pause, before the same voice, Yang's voice, continued in annoyance. "What? But you told me to cook and everything and now you'll ditch us?" Was she talking to Ruby? But she didn't notice Ruby walking down the stairs. Still, the context didn't fit at all for it being Ruby. "Well, what else would you call it? Fine, whatever, have fun or something. You'll owe me for busting my butt only for you to skip on the food I made." Blake decided that it had to be on the phone. Either that or Yang was going crazy. "Sure, try to have fun. Love you too, bye." With that conversation over, Yang came back to the room and glanced her way. "Change of plans, you're staying for dinner."

The only thing that Blake could do was to blink at the sudden invitation... No, not invitation, an announcement more or less. "I am?"

oooOOOooo

She did. Although it wasn't what she expected. Normally, when she thought about this type of thing, she thought it would be sitting at a table to eat with... Well, family members or whoever you ate with. Not this couch eating. Which they did, settled in front of the big TV, the two sisters argued what to watch. Blake was indifferent as to what would be played in the background. Instead, she focused on her food. Yang wasn't a cook, which was apparent. Not that the food was bad, it was simply... Well, simple. Boiled veggies which consistent of cauliflower, broccoli, and some chopped carrots, fried chicken and all that sprinkled with some cheese which already melted on top of the hot food. It all had a chicken broth smell to it, in addition to everything else, which implied it was used in some way. Although Blake wasn't sure what. Both Blake and Ruby opted out from Rice, which Yang quite richly avalanched the aforementioned food. As she was viewing her food, both Yang and Ruby had to decide on something to watch. It seemed to be a music channel. Once more, she couldn't care less.

"So what did dad say?" Ruby asked from between her bites.

"That he got dragged to a bar." Yang answered although it seemed to be of great effort for the girl to find a moment in which her mouth was not filled with food.

"Whoa, and he agreed?" This seemed to be a surprising turn of event, at least from how Ruby reacted to it.

Yang barked in laughter at that "Hah, had the same reaction."

"Speaking of being away, I might have an uh... Sleepover next week. You know, just saying because now I have to inform about stuff as soon as possible." Ruby blurted out.

"Whoa, really?" Yang turned from Ruby to Blake. "You didn't let me even stay over for a night or two."

The sudden shift in which Blake became part of this conversation allowed her for only one type of response. "What?"

Ruby nudged her older sister "Yang! It's not Blake, alright? It's... Someone from my school." The younger girl letting out a sigh.

"Hey, for real? That's great! I mean, a bit late for I guess better late than never, right?" The blonde smirked, nudging her sister back.

"Yea yea yea, I guess I'll tell dad tomorrow or something since he might not remember even if I tell him today." Blake tried to focus on her food. For no particular reason, it just seemed like the right thing to do. She was happy that Ruby went out to try again to find some other people to hang out with. This was nice. As she bit into a piece of broccoli, she was overwhelmed with a bittersweet taste. As odd as it was, she hoped that whatever she ate wasn't spoiled.

oooOOOooo

As Blake went back to her condominium, her mind was filled with the events of today. She never did much yet whenever that not doing anything involved other people, she felt as if she wasted her time. Was today different? Perhaps. It was different, yet she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. As she got close to her door, something told her to stop. Her gaze was turned further down the corridor. Her hand moved back and she hid her keys back into her pocket. She knew what was there, which would explain why she felt the urge to go there. Still, this urge to do so was a mystery to her. Was it because of today? Did it all pile up over the weeks? She wasn't sure.

As she continued to walk down the corridor, she finally came to the door. Metal and solid, it wasn't part of someone's home. No, those were the door which behind was a single staircase that led towards the roof. At least when going up. She never really went down, although she assumed they had to be some form of evacuation system. It mattered little to her. Reaching out, she grabbed the handle. It was open. She began to walk up. The stairs clunked underneath her feet, as they were made out of metal. The gray walls made the journey even more monotonous. With each step, she felt heavier. The closer to the roof she was, the more burden was placed on her shoulders.

Finally, after another metallic door, she was on the roof. The wind attacked her the moment she pushed them. This was a place she visited from time to time. Here she felt as if she truly was alone. Even if surrounded by countless buildings with countless eyes behind all those windows, she couldn't care less for any of them. This was her place of solitude.

She walked to the edge, surrounded by a short wall, reaching no more than her waist, she glanced down. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Yang looking her way anxiously. Some people didn't like getting too close to the edge like this and some didn't even like watching others doing so. Blake wasn't afraid, she enjoyed the view. Besides, it was already dark outside, as such the nighttime view was even more spectacular. Death was a lousy excuse to not experience it.

Morbid thought aside, she went back towards the door she came here through. She had no intent on leaving the roof, not yet. She sat beside them and took a deep breath. Looking up she saw the dark sky. It was a normal city sight to see darkness whenever you looked up. The city was simply too bright to allow all but few stars to be visible at night. She let out a sigh, as all of today once more went through her head. She smiled at that. It did not go as she predicted it to be. Not that it was a bad thing, her scenario was just... Bit more boring, if anything. Who knew Ruby was so much into her little interest, it wasn't just some sort of future she wanted to chase to get a degree and later a job. No, she seemed to genuinely like all those numbers and... Other things. Building things, that was the other thing. So many things indeed. Most importantly, she would soon get a group of friends and be able to leave Blake's sphere. She didn't want the girl to be gone, far from it. She just knew it would be better for both of them if they went their separate ways. She hoped Yang would do that, but the blonde was persistent and was hanging around her for... Different reasons than Ruby. Reasons she didn't quite get. Ruby was far more simple than that. She was just lonely and was feeling abandoned. As soon as she would find her group, she would de-attach from her.

This reminded her of the reason why she came here. Moving her legs up and hugging them, she focused her gaze on the night sky again. She was looking for one of the few specific stars that were strong enough, bright enough to slice its way through the dark veil. Once she found it, she smiled. Although it wasn't a happy smile. Far from it. Bitter and sad. One lonely star, shining brightly on the dark sky. Far away from the moon's protection. All alone on the night, dark sky. Blake felt the warmth that gathered in her eyes. She felt it slowly trickle down her cheeks, as her eyes were completely focused on that one star. Not trusting her voice, she merely whispered.

"I'm sorry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took so long for this chapter. I sort of got sucked back into Wakfu, obviously the best game ever and after that died off a bit other stuff happened. Most likely affecting everyone reading this in one way or another. This will date this chapter like a mofo, but whatever.
> 
> I guess the extra time helped this chapter. Either helped or ruined it, I can't really decide, as I added and modified plenty of stuff.
> 
> The engineering part as I like to call it and it's obvious which part it is, took me a while to research. By research I mean google it. Although it still took me some time to understand properly somethings before I felt comfortable writing about it. And if you see how much in detail I went with it, you know that wasn't much. Still, if anyone out there knows this stuff and what I wrote was insulting to them, I apologize. I tried my best to present it in some "I know what I'm talking about" fashion and then try to balance it out without too in-depth. I always feel guilty when I butcher something like that and yet I try to educate myself, even if by an inch, about the stuff I write.
> 
> Excuses aside, I hope you lovely people enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Stay safe.


	8. When it rains...

Blake was speeding down the hallway. It wasn't usual behavior for her, but she had a good reason to do so. Normally, she was in no hurry. Since she always tried to be before her classes started, she never felt rushed. Although the try part was important, as it didn't always work out as she thought it would.

What provoked this? Her worry. Well, the proper answer should be Yang. Since it was her, that wanted to meet up and talk, not even waiting for the day to end like usual whenever something came up. She wasn't one to ask too many questions, considering how urgently Yang wanted to talk, she could only assume it was important. Especially since all the things, she started learning about Yang's life. Mostly her family life. While she got a bit of it from Ruby's side, it was clear that Yang was affected by them as well. Especially after learning about her dad. Well, not that she learned much, but she could assume that he wasn't that often home. Was it a recent behavior? Unique situation? She wasn't sure. Still, it was safe for her to take that into consideration.

With that being said, she was about to do another thing she would usually avoid doing. To visit a certain part of the college campus. As she got closer to the place in question, she let out a sigh, focusing her eyes on the doors leading to that awful place. The cafeteria. Maybe it was just bad memories. Maybe her feelings towards this place were justified. She wasn't sure which of those were true. What she did know, was that she hated this place.

Pushing the double doors aside, she was hit with all the reasons for her hate. First came the sound. While it was normal for it to be loud around the campus, it was the slight echo that added this extra annoyance. That and the four speakers that someone decided to put here, with one of the radio stations she wasn't familiar with being played over brakes. Second after came the smell. The mixture of everyone's food together with whatever you could get at the canteen. Last came people. A chaotic mess of single individuals, pairs or small groups. None caring for anything but their own group and paying little attention to their surrounding.

She stepped inside, not wanting to be one of those she hated. Grimacing she looked around, it took her a moment to notice a familiar blonde waving at her. She nodded, not sure if the girl could even notice such a subtle gesture, and started to walk towards her. She picked a spot far away from the food stand and on the side next to the wall. It was a small bench in front of a table against said wall, which made it a less popular spot. Which was good, at least for her. Considering it was Yang that picked it, she could only assume that it was also good for the blonde.

"Hey Blake, what's with that sour face?" At Yang's words, Blake took a short pause to look the blonde over. She didn't seem that different, but then again she never really saw much besides what Yang wanted others to see. Perhaps she wasn't that different from her then? Perhaps...

"I'm not a big fan of this place." She answered before sitting next to the other girl.

Yang seemed genuinely surprised by her statement. "Really? Why not? I thought you don't mind crowded spots."

"Few reasons." Blake shrugged. "What did you want to talk about?" She wasn't in the mood for small talk. Especially not in this place.

Yang's expression shifted as concern grew on her face. "I had something on my mind for the past few days and... I guess I wanted to talk about that with you."

"Is it about your dad?" Blake didn't want to dance around the topic. While she should have asked about Yang's family as a whole, or at least the part she knew about, just asking about her father should be good enough.

"M-My dad?" If Yang was surprised before, now she was outright shocked.

"Last time I visited he seemed to be... Not able to join you and Ruby for dinner. Considering what was going on with you and Ruby I just thought it started to pile up on you." Even if she was wrong, there was nothing bad about worrying, so this assumption brought no harm to either of them. Hopefully.

"Oh? Oh! I know what you're talking about. Nah, that was a one-off. The bar thing that is. It's not the first time we ate alone. It happens more often nowadays." Yang shrugged.

Blake could see something behind that nonchalant attitude towards that topic, something more, buried under it all. Still, she couldn't really say anything. She couldn't convince Yang she was having an issue, right? "It's not bothering you?"

"I mean... He's a single dad, Blake. A single dad that will soon have two daughters in college. Considering Ruby might have quite high demand considering the place she'll want to attend to, he has to take whatever paid hours he can to prepare the home budget for that." There it was again, the nonchalant attitude, as Yang shrugged. "Am I bothered by it? Well, a little bit, but I understand. We both do, I and Ruby, that he has to do that."

Blake frowned, perhaps that was what she saw. "Then what did you want to talk about?"

Yang rubbed her neck at that. "You."

"Me?" Her brow furrowed at that. She had a sneaking suspicion where this was going.

"Yeah, you were acting... Different for the past week." The blonde shrugged.

"Different? I don't know where this is coming from, but I haven't noticed anything different about me." She rested her hand against the table.

Yang brushed a hand through her hair with a sigh. "You are. Before you were like a cat lurking in the shadows or something. You know, quiet but aware of stuff. Now it's like someone started to distract you with a red laser pointer. Look I just thought, since Ruby started hanging out with some girls from her class, that you got used to it all and since she's not around, you needed some social environment or whatever they call it. I mean, you sort of had a positive effect on Ruby, I thought it went both ways."

Blake gritted her teeth more and more as Yang went on. She was getting sick of this and at a rapid pace. "I'm not a cat, Yang. Neither am I yours for you to get into my life like this."

"So something did happen!" At Yang's triumphant sounding statement, Blake couldn't control herself anymore, as her hand clenched into a fist and slammed it against the table. This was enough to get a few people that were close enough from the surrounding crowd to take a short glance their way, although not for long before they went back to whatever they were doing before. It most likely involved food and chatter with friends. The most affected by it, was Yang, as she seemed startled by the sudden gesture. "Blake?"

"I'm done. I thought something happened, I didn't know you would lure me into this godforsaken place just for you to project all those insecurities and delusions onto me." With that said, she began to stand up.

"Blake, wait up!" Yang reached for her arm. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just concerned!"

Glaring her way, she jerked her arm free out of Yang's hand. "You don't trust me." She took a few steps away from Yang. All she could focus on was her lavender eyes. All she could see was sadness and concern. She had to run. She couldn't let it affect her. Not right now.

oooOOOooo

Blake torpedoed out of the building. While she rarely skipped classes, this was a good reason to do so. She didn't want to start any kind of fight or be disrespectful to one of the teachers or anything. Once outside it took her a moment before she noticed how the weather started to mirror her mood. Glancing up, she noticed dark clouds covering the sky. It was pretty obvious it would rain sooner or later. She didn't care though. It was perfect weather for her current mood.

As she walked quickly through the crowd of people, things started to get better, although that wasn't exactly what happened. It just started feeling as if things fitted more in place. She was walking among people who didn't care about her nor anyone else, each in their own direction, each with a specific destination in mind. While surrounded by people, she did not feel encircled like in the cafeteria earlier today.

She had her takes on noise, crowds and many other things. Unlike some would think, she accepted them, weaved explanations and excuses for their existence and managed to convince herself that most of them weren't that bad and at worst tolerable. Yet some things remained inexcusable. Some of them had no place in her life and if she could she would avoid them at any cost. And she did.

As she walked through the streets, she arrived at her own destination or at least half a destination. The bus stop. At that point, she slowed down but didn't stop. She eyed all those people that were there doing what she was supposed to do. Wait for the bus. She pursed her lips at that. Soon She found herself moving forward, past the bus stop. Her previous speed returned. There was no reason for her to walk this quickly. It came naturally, uninvited.

Did it come to this? Did her body try to physically mimic her mind? She could deceive many people, family, friends, acquaintances, strangers. While not everyone that belonged to those groups would fall for her social tricks, generally speaking, she could get away with a lot. There was one person she could never trick, never lie to. She could pretend it was within her power to do so, but deep down she knew that it was impossible. That person was herself.

Blake was aware of why she didn't want to ride the bus today. Sitting down, even staying in place right now would get her to think. It would bring thoughts that were frustrating, the type of thoughts she couldn't sit out. As odd as it sounded, in a way she was trying to run away from that. Like an animal trying to escape its own tail. Yet sadly for her, there wasn't even a glimmer of hope of escaping it. Unlike an animal, she was aware that it was part of her.

She noticed droplets hitting the ground. Not many, but enough for people to do the typical routine of reaching out with their hands and glancing at the sky to ensure if it was indeed starting to rain. While it was hard to call this raining, water, single droplets, were falling down from the sky. What a horrible day to not bring your umbrella. Having no better idea, she simply hoped she could outrun this obstacle in her life, just as she tried to outrun everything else at this point.

This was the issue at hand, wasn't it? She wasn't annoyed at Yang because of the cafeteria. She wasn't annoyed because the girl tricked her since there was hardly any trickery involved. Even before she agreed, she knew that Yang would start asking questions. Even before setting a foot inside that big hall designed with food in mind, she knew that Yang would talk about Ruby in one way or another. She just didn't know that Yang would be right with her assumptions.

That was one of those things that caught her off guard. Not Yang, but how low her guard was. It was like she was in denial so much, that she outright declined the possibility that Yang would ask such a question. That anyone would. Why? She wasn't sure. Regardless, that was not important. The issue was Ruby, the sole reason for this entire situation existing. Partially at least, she doubted the younger girl had anything to do with the rain.

She couldn't even as much as to reject Yang's words. Not outright. She could ignore them, try to move on, make a smoke wall, anything. But not outright deny the fact that the girl was on her mind as of late. Yet the reason why she was, as Yang noted, distracted, wasn't because of the girl herself. No. It was because she knew exactly why the girl was on her mind all this time.

Selfishness.

That was the sole reason why. She wanted to have the girl around because she got used to it, it became part of her routine. She didn't care for her, but she simply wanted the right circumstances to exist so that the girl would be around. This was the reason why she opted from having people around. Friends and such. Because she was selfish. Because she didn't deserve to have any of those people. Because when they weren't around, she felt this way. It all created a cycle, a very horrible cycle inside of her. Yang? Yang wasn't like that. She pushed herself inside her life and always did so. She didn't have to worry about her leaving, because for now, she was more than happy to barge right in whenever she wished to. Ruby was different, she didn't really seek anything to do with her, no. She was lost. Lost and confused, nothing else.

She didn't want this. She didn't want to think about her life, friends, Ruby. She purposely avoided thoughts like that. She purposely distracted herself. Without care for what others might have thought, she suddenly began to run. Grabbing her bag tight under her arm, she just began to run forward. She didn't care that she had no hopes of escaping what was really chasing her right now. She had to try, one more time.

At that moment, the rain began to pour

oooOOOooo

Looking out the window was calming enough. Hearing the rain hit the glass, seeing people tucked under their umbrellas. It felt like watching a river. she herself was partially lucky that her coat had a hood. A fact she learned thanks to a moment of clarity amongst the chaos that was brewing inside her mind. With all that going on, it was only natural that she decided to skip on the idea to go home. Instead, she opted for her favorite cafe.

She was a mess, there was no denying that. The worst part was that she didn't have any solution. Usually, there was something she could do, but right now? Right now she couldn't see any path before her that could lead back into her beloved status quo. She could give in into her desires, but she knew that if she did that, deep down she would suffer. To give in into her own selfishness like that would be a shallow victory if victory at all. The other option was running away, but there was nowhere she could run away. If anything, she was currently running away. She ended up in this place because she ran away. In a way, she didn't have anywhere else to run away. Technically maybe, if she wanted to reach for the extremes of some sort, but it wouldn't really help.

She could only wait. Usually, that wouldn't be that bad. Well, it would be, but that be the positive side of it. She deserved it. The issue right now was that there was a high chance of bringing other people down with her. Something she wanted to avoid. There's no reason to suffer for your sins if you're just going to commit new ones.

Maybe visit home? For a weekend or even a whole week. That would make her mom happy, she always complained about how she never visited. No, not visited. That she never was home. It was still her home, right? It stopped feeling like home. That was why she ended up here. Here? Here she was happy. At least till things got complicated.

She inhaled the aroma of her tea. Ginger tea. It was her go-to whenever she felt down. Her mom always made it for her when she was sick. With honey and lemon. It had to make some sort of reaction in her brain which ended with her wanting to drink it whenever she felt bad. Regardless if that was true or made up, she always had some weird approach to this specific type of tea. Sacred almost. Although deep down it was just fear of it becoming mundane, loosing how special it was to her.

The little bell that signaled the door opening caught her attention. As she glanced towards the source of the sound, her eyes went wide. Walking in was someone she even forgot existed. Wearing what Blake could only describe as office suit. With a blue jacket and a skirt in the same color. Underneath which she wore a white shirt. There was a plaque on it, which most likely consisted of this person's name. What she could make out, even from this distance, was the SPC proudly engraved on it. There was also an umbrella in her and, which kept her mostly dry.

Their eyes meet and while Blake was mostly surprised, she knew herself enough that it didn't show as much on her face. The other girl was comfortable enough to show something, even if Blake wasn't sure how honest that was. Still, the other girl smiled and nodded, approaching the counter, where one of the waitresses send her towards a table. Out of all the empty tables, she decided to approach the one where Blake was at.

"Hello, Blake, wasn't it? Mind if I join you?" This wasn't a hard question and Blake knew it. The answer was also quite simple. She did mind. Not because she had anything against this girl, but she was attached to the one person she did not wish to think about right now. Not to mention she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone really.

"No, feel free. Weiss, right?" She glanced as the girl sat on the chair opposite to hers, resting her folded umbrella against the said chair.

"That's correct, I'm glad you remember." With a smile, the white-haired girl opened the menu and started to glance through it.

"Haven't seen you around here and I visit quite often." Blake wasn't sure what she wanted to achieve with that... Statement. Question? No, definitely not a question. It just seemed like something worth mentioning if only to not let awkward silence settle between them.

"It's my first time here. I had a bad day so I told my driver to stop next to this cafe." Weiss gave a small shrug as her attention was mostly on the menu before her.

"Just like that?" Blake tilted her head, brow raised.

"Just like that." Weiss sent her a short glance. "I had a bad day and on a whim, I thought that a small place like this was just what I needed. That and some coffee. I noticed there weren't many folks inside so I used that opportunity when I could." Once finished with her explanation, she raised her hand and looked at the waitress who had to wait to approach their table.

The girl who had to be around their age, smiled as she approached them. "What can I get you?" She glanced at both Blake and Weiss.

The latter closed the menu and gently moved it away from herself. "I'll have number sixteen."

The girl was about to write something but stopped. "Sixteen." She tapped the notepad she had in her hand. "R-Right, sixteen. Anything else?" The waitress tried to fake a smile over her nervousness.

"That'll be all for me." Weiss nodded, no more looking at the girl.

"I'm fine as well." Blake decided to chime in. However odd it would sound, it was getting a bit too crowded around her table.

"I'll be back with your order in a moment." The girl smiled and quickly moved towards the kitchen.

"You could just say the name, it's what most people do." Blake glanced at the menu but stopped herself from looking at what it was. At least not when Weiss was present. Maybe if she remembered next time she was here, she would.

"She'll be fine. Although I'm not surprised you're concerned about that girl." Weiss commented with an amused smile.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake, on the other hand, was far from amused. She was in no mood for games, not games like this.

"From what I heard from Ruby, you're quite the knight in shining armor." Weiss chuckled and most likely noticing the frown on Blake's face, she shook her head. "I mean no insult by this, of course, nor did I want to put you in any kind of spotlight. Although I didn't lie about either." Weiss finished with a smile.

"I'm far from being a knight of any kind." With a sigh, Blake shrugged. Maybe weariness caught up with her, but she was too tired to be annoyed or angry at anyone.

"Perhaps, but this is how Ruby paints you whenever she talks about you." With another chuckle, Weiss shook her head once more. "Although I understand, she can be very... Excitable and that affects the way she speaks about anything. Although I won't lie it's charming to see that amount of energy being directed at positivity, wouldn't you say?"

Blake wanted to give a generic answer before she caught herself doing so. No, she wouldn't fall down to that. If she accepted participating in this conversation, she would at least give a proper answer and voice her opinion accordingly. Was it a big deal? No, but it was something she insisted on doing. "I can't say if it's charming or not, but its better than focusing on the negatives." Not wanting for this conversation to lean over her like this, she continued. "She treats you in a similar fashion, although she focuses on your judgment calls and smarts."

Before their conversation could continue, the waitress interrupted it as she approached their table and carefully placed the ordered item before Weiss. To no surprise to Blake, it seemed to be one of those foamy coffee drinks. "Here you go, please enjoy." The girl smiled.

"I'm sure I will, thank you." Weiss answered with a smile, that was the cue for the girl to leave, which she did.

"Regardless of why she said that I just helped her out because I would otherwise feel bad." Blake could ignore the previous topic, hope for a new one to brew up or make one up herself but it simply sat badly with her at the moment. To be described as something that was in opposition to what she thought of herself.

Weiss let a small sigh at that, moving her cup higher to smell the aroma of her drink, not yet sinking her lips into it. "But it made you feel better, no?"

"By the notion of not making me feel bad, I guess I can say that it did make me feel better, yes." Blake shrugged.

"I usually abstain from this line of thoughts, but if I was to put on my cynical glasses, I would say that humans, just like other animals, are very impulse controlled creatures." Finally, the white-haired girl would sink her lips in the foam of her drink, nodding afterward. Was it because she approved of the drink or something else? Blake wasn't sure. "We learn that certain things are good or bad because they make us feel good or bad. Although personally, I think people who seek such an explanation dwell too deep. Sometimes logic has no place, it simply ruins beautiful things."

"You would rather live in a lie?" Blake took a sip of her own tea, reminded by the other girl's gesture that she had her own drink. Although it cooled down, she still enjoyed the flavor.

"Some things simply aren't objective, some things go beyond our veil of empathy or moral things we take for granted, rarely are as black and white as we think." Weiss took another sip. "If I was to leave a generous tip, I would get a happy feeling about it, although I could as well help the girl with her education as much as I could feed some sort of ruining addiction she has."

"Isn't that just covering your eyes and pretending there are no issues with any of those?" Blake grimaced, she knew what the girl was getting at, but she didn't really agree with any of it.

Weiss smacked her lips at that. "If by covering eyes, you mean not overthink, then yes. I simply prefer to feel certain things, then over-analyze them. It makes you a happier person when you don't question everything around you. Friendship, love, good or evil. Those are all subjective anyway, so why try to apply logic to them. At best you'll get cultural common ground on these subjects, but you'll rarely go beyond that, it's simply impossible to overcome individuality like that."

"Is it often you get philosophical when drinking coffee?" Blake didn't mean to be impolite, but this was going nowhere, it was only fair for her to cut this discussion short.

"I apologize. Like I said I had a bad day and when I do, I tend to get chatty." The girl smiled at that. "I find it a bit amusing that it's Ruby who got me thinking like that, after we went how she tends to glorify others, she's quite the positive influence herself."

Blake was a bit surprised at that, considering what and how she learned about Weiss, she assumed she was some kind of a philanthrope at heart or by being raised so. Still, what she knew and what Weiss just said herself could mean a lot of things. She could ask, but she didn't care enough to do so. It was Weiss' business on how she changed in her world view. A different feeling started to loom over Blake. A feeling of fear. Pretty simple fear, at least in terms of explaining it. Would Ruby change her in some way as well?

oooOOOooo

It seemed that the rain wouldn't stop today, not even for the night. Maybe it was the events of today, but she was mesmerized by the sound of the raindrops tapping against the window glass. It was the perfect weather for some warm cocoa. While not the biggest fan of sweets, it did help to ease this day to an end in a calm and peaceful manner like this. Warm, sweet and with a soft texture, this was exactly what she needed, as her eyes peered outside. It's not that she hoped to see anything. It was far too late for anyone to be outside, especially with weather like this. With the sky being covered with dark clouds she couldn't even see the moon. Maybe that was for the better, huh?

Luckily, the rest of her day wasn't as eventful. Although she'd rather have it spread evenly out through her whole day than have two odd social bombs dropped on her like that. Her interaction with Weiss didn't last for long, after which they parted ways and Blake went home as soon as possible. While not completely defenseless against the rain, the hood in her jacket alone wasn't enough to let her enjoy the weather first hand. Maybe that was just an excuse and she really wanted to hide in her home?

Admittedly, this whole situation? It was her own doing. She'll have to apologize. But not right now. Maybe in a day or two. If she could, she would leave it as it is, Yang would hopefully leave her alone and she could go back to being a hermit. The only issue with this plan was that Yang would blame herself for all of this. She was like that, a good person. While she had her flaws, like anyone, it became clear pretty early on that Blake would simply be held hostage by the blonde if she did anything to harm their relationship on purpose. While this incident wasn't on purpose, she was aware enough to know that it would not sit well with her. Such was her fate.

Her phone vibrating on top of the windowsill brought her back into reality. It had to be Yang, although it took her a bit to message her. Perhaps she shouldn't even wait till tomorrow and instead get it over with as soon as possible. That thought was held back when she noticed her phone not stopping. Was this a phonecall? She shook her head, of course, it was. Might as well get it over with. Reaching for her phone, she didn't even take her eyes off of the outside world as she took the call.

"Hello." She began, not sure what else could she say without getting to the issue at hand.

"Blake?" At that, Blake froze. This wasn't Yang. "Blake?" Came another call for her.

"Ruby?" Blake's eyes grew at that, what was the girl doing calling her at this time? No, not just that. It was Ruby's tone of voice that made her heart hammering inside her chest. The same heart would stop when she heard the younger girl's next words.

"Blake I... I need help."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey people, I hope you're all safe. I apologize for how long it took me with this chapter I also apologize that it ended up in a cliffhanger like that. I just thought that instead of making a mega chapter I'd cut it in half, it turned out better since I could focus on different things in those chapters. The reason for all this was that I could hardly find time and/or mood to write for the past few weeks.
> 
> I dunno. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you next time!


	9. What a horrible night to have...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes re-read my own stuff to torture myself and to remind myself of the tone and feel of the story. I rarely go through my own notes like these ones, because why bother. Yet there's one I read, the one at the start of this story. The one where I outright lied. Sort of. On that note, I said that this would be a very casual, slice of life story. When I wrote that note, I had just a bunch of oneshots connected by the same AU in mind. Yet, here we are, almost 10 chapters in.
> 
> For that, I wanted to apologize. I don't feel bad over what happened to the story, I have fun writing it and I hope people enjoy reading it. Yet I feel like I baited people into a thing that this story is not. I just felt bad, I hate doing those at the start of chapters, but I felt its justified

Blake was dashing through the brightly illuminated streets. She wasn't sure if it was luck or the opposite that it was raining, as the streets were extra empty, even considering the hour. Her shoes hit the paved ground at a quick and steady pace, occasionally splashing some water whenever there was a puddle in front of her. She didn't care. She couldn't care. There was no room in her mind to even think about it being a bother, let alone allow for it to hinder her run. She wasn't sure where exactly was her destination. She knew more or less where it was, but that was under different circumstances. The most prominent being a different time of day, not to mention no rain and no rush. Yet she couldn't stop to think or look around too much. If she did, she was afraid of not being able to run anymore. She could already feel her legs burning, this was precisely the moment she cursed herself for skipping all those P.E classes in high school and having no interest in anything remotely exercise-related in her life.

Blake didn't fully understand why she was called. Did Ruby try other people and they refused? Was she the first person Ruby called? She could understand why she didn't call Yang. The blonde would get angry, it would create issues. She might even take it to their dad, which would further make things complicated. Some other thoughts that rolled through her head unsupervised were questions if this was what Ruby did all this week. Was it related to this? Were her classmates involved in this? If so, where were they now? Was this a prank? Some of her thoughts made her worried while some angered her. Regardless, all of those pushed her to speed up even more.

Because things couldn't be simple, there was one more thing that created two issues. She forgot her phone. In all this rush, it simply skipped her mind. That meant she couldn't call the girl or the girl couldn't reach her. In case something extra happened which changed her place of being or in case things got resolved by a third-party intervention. The other issue is that she couldn't even check where the place was with her phone. Was she running blindly? No, at least not yet. She had an idea where it could be, and that was her current destination. If her sense of direction would prove her wrong, she had no idea what would happen then.

This was the moment she allowed herself to stop. Her legs were burning, she could feel that. She was out of breath and her heart was hammering inside her chest. Was this a worthwhile sacrifice, or would it prove to be a complete waste of time and energy? As she looked around, squinting her eyes, she looked for the name of the place. While she only knew how it looked while it was still bright, the name of that place was a neon of sort, which meant it should light up at night, right? Well, that was what she hoped. Some really run down places didn't bother to fix those things.

As her eyes scanned the area, she used that as an excuse to rest her body. This didn't last long, as she located what she was looking for. She allowed herself to smile, as at least something worked out today. She found the place. She started to move again, this time simply walking to kill the distance between herself and her destination. While her body was still greedily capturing air, she at least wasn't panting anymore.

There was a small roof on the outside, just above the entrance which Blake was glad for, as it served to hide her from most of the rain. This was the type of place she no longer visited, a club. Well, from what she heard it was a bar that was turned into a club at weekends, but then again she always assumed most clubs did that. Maybe, she wasn't an expert. She also never visited those places on the normal weekday as well.

Opening the door led her to a small hallway. Even here she could hear the thumping music echoing through the walls. While it wasn't a very long hallway, it was extremely barebones. It was mostly a concrete floor with a red carpet thrown at the center of where people would walk with white walls and ceiling. On the other side were metallic double doors, behind which the source of the music was. The club itself. There was still no one who would keep the numbers in check, none who would check the quality of guests. She assumed it either had to be rare for this place to get overcrowded or after a while they just allowed anyone in. Who would visit at such a late hour anyway, right? Few people. Her included.

Blake took one more deep breath and pushed the metallic door. It almost felt like the music wanted to blow her out of the place as it hit her. It's not that she was one to judge music tastes, far from it. It was simply too damn loud. How could people socialize in any way, form, or shape? And yet, it was something she enjoyed at one point in her life.

It was hard to judge the colors or the interior in general, as the flashing lights that accompanied the music would kill any detail of this big room. She noticed there was a big designated part for dancing, it was where most people were. A few booths, loose tables with some chairs as well as a long bar. Also, a few more of the same metallic double doors she just walked through. What was behind? She could only guess.

The thumping music was making it hard to concentrate, she decided to move deeper inside, as there was no point in standing at the entrance. Well, semi-entrance. As she slowly walked forward, she could see eyes directed her way. After all, while everyone was set to look their best, here she was, looking as casual as ever. Casual and wet from the rain. She couldn't let that bother her, she had to focus on her goal. She had to find Ruby. But where to start looking? Squinting her eyes, she looked around. Then a realization hit her. The bathrooms! where else?! That being said, where were those in here? They had to be somewhere, right? She could look behind each of the side doors, but that created an issue of her walking in somewhere she wasn't allowed. The last thing she wanted to do is to be kicked out before finding Yang's sister. The staff, of course. They should know that sort of thing, right? And hopefully, be helpful enough to tell her.

Looking around, she didn't catch any glance of any waitresses, as such the bar was her only option. Walking up to it, she glanced at the alcohol selection. Perhaps a shot of something stronger would help her calm down? She shook her head, no. Re-creating parts of certain scenarios was just asking for the same consequences to happen. "Excuse me!" She called out to the nearby bartender. Young guy, not that much older than herself. He approached her and nodded. "Where's the bathroom?" She asked out, trying to speak loudly, but avoid yelling. The guy squinted, pointing at his ear as he shook his head. "The bathroom!"

He looked at her for a moment before a sign of realization appeared on his face. He pointed towards one of the metallic double doors with his hand. While she knew it had to be behind one of those, now she knew exactly which it was. She turned towards the guy, wanting to thank him, but she remembered the vocal communication here had interference, so she opted to simply thumbs up at him, before moving towards the doors she was pointed at.

Behind them awaited her a similar corridor to the one she saw before, although this seemed more maintained, at least visually. With a lilac carpet, dark blue walls and ceiling of the same color. There were three doors here, well technically four if counting the one she just came through. While the two on her left and right had to be the actual bathrooms, she wondered where the other one lead. Emergency exit? Most likely. Regardless it wasn't her business, so she opted to ignore it for now.

Instead, she focused on the two doors on the side walls. Glancing at them, she quickly identified the universal symbols used for bathrooms and walked into the one designated for women. Since she rushed inside, she was blinded by how bright it was inside. With all these mirrors and white tiles on the walls, it all assaulted her at once. It didn't help that while the flashing colorful lights were present in the main room of the club, the overall atmosphere was dark over there. Here it was like a completely different dimension.

She was greeted with a few stares, as the bathroom wasn't empty. A few woman and girls of various ages were fixing their makeup or whatever it was they were doing. Blake wasn't sure. It was just a pointless detail to her. She moved towards the stalls, where Ruby had to hide. Walking next to them, she tried to listen in. It didn't take her long before she heard someone sobbing. It happened, more often than it should, that there was some girl hiding in the bathroom, crying her eyes out. This time it would be the girl she was looking for. "Ruby?" She called out, making sure she wasn't mistaking her for someone else as well as announcing her presence in case it was indeed Ruby.

"B-Blake?" Came the answer, yes it was definitely Ruby. Not a second later, the lock to the stall doors was opened, although the doors remained closed. Blake frowned at that and opened them herself. Inside was Ruby, at least that's what Blake assumed was Ruby. She didn't mean anything bad, of course, quite the opposite, sort of. She had a very intricate makeup and an outfit she would never think to see the girl in with a jacket on her lap, that was the only familiar sight as she recognized that jacket. The makeup itself, at least around her eyes, was ruined, obviously from the girl crying. Her outfit was something that would most likely shock her in more mundane circumstances, simply because she never saw the girl wear anything like this. It was a red dress with short sleeves although the girl didn't wear any high heels, just her normal boots, this, no matter the circumstances, was amusing to Blake. Before she could get any more details, Ruby jumped up, wanting to hug her. Blake, however, grabbed her arms and shook her head.

"Not yet, try and endure it till we get out, alright?" Blake didn't want to make a scene, nor did she want for the girl to break completely right here and now. Who knows, maybe she herself was starting to feel odd with the glances both of them had to receive. Ruby simply nodded, without any further complaints, Blake wrapped an arm around the younger girl and started to escort her out. Once they were outside the bathroom she glanced both ways. Her first idea was to just walk through the same way she came in, but then again if that was really an emergency exit, it should be open and it should lead outside, correct? "Ruby? Do you know where those doors lead to?" She nodded towards the mysterious pair of doors. The redhead shook her head. As it took Blake a glance to see her response, it broke her heart to see the girl in such a miserable state. "Let's see then." Of course, she didn't mean to take Ruby on adventures, not right now. On the other hand, she wanted to avoid crowds. Crowds and loud places. She wanted to get Ruby out of here as quickly as possible.

Approaching the doors, she pushed them, only to find them open. She let out a sigh of relief and glanced outside. It seemed to be a back alley of sorts, with one exit to the left from the doors. It didn't seem like there were any wild animals, no bums nor drunk people here, so she decided it was safe to go this way. Besides, the tight alleyway provided some shelter from the rain. Walking outside, she let a sigh of relief. "There, we're out." as if on command, she felt the other girl basically pounce her and hug into her. The sheer impact made her almost lose balance. Ruby didn't seem to care, once she clung to her, she began to cry. The same sobbing she heard in the bathroom, but amplified with newly found emotions, with fresh tears. While hesitant, she wrapped her arms around the younger girl. She was curious about the details of what happened, but she didn't want to ask. Not right now, if at all. If Ruby wants to talk about it, she will.

Blake wasn't sure how long they stood like that. It was just Ruby's crying, the sound of rain, and the distant echo of the club music. She felt bad. She saw the girl mad and annoyed before, now she saw her sad. Not just sad, but scared, terrified even. Yet she never saw her happy. Sure, she saw her excited and content, but never happy. Then again, did she ever experience anyone's happiness before? She did, didn't she? There was someone. Someone from the past.

"I-I'm fine now." Ruby's barely audible whisper took Blake out of her thoughts, as she glanced down at the girl. She offered a small smile and a nod. Letting the girl go, she looked her over. Ruby was shaking, not from cold, at least she assumed as much. It wasn't that noticeable as well. She assumed it was due to the panic attack she had to have, combined with crying and whatever else happened today.

Blake bit her lip for a second, before speaking. "Since it's raining, here, hold this over your head." Blake took off her jacket and handed it to the girl. Ruby was now holding two jackets in her arms.

"W-Wait, what? But I have my own." She said, trying to hand it back to Blake.

"No, no, you'll put on your own, and held mine above your head." Blake continued, explaining her master plan.

Ruby examined the two pieces of clothing. It didn't leave Blake's attention at how long it took the girl to focus enough to piece things together. "What about you?" Ruby finally asked.

"That's simple" Blake began, she was ahead of Ruby in this weird game of chess. "You'll wear your own jacket, while you held mine over our head." To not create further confusion, she turned around and lowered herself slightly. "Now hop on."

There was a frown on the younger girl's face before her eyes went wide. "N-No, Blake, I can't. I mean, I can walk by myself!" She began, Blake noticed that the girl heated up over this. True, any physical contact between them wasn't casual and every day, but she was overreacting. Which might be explained by her current state.

Should she let go? And then what? What if the girl passes out? Should she carry her then? Should she call for an ambulance? Can Ruby even pass out from something like this? Blake wasn't sure. No, she wouldn't gamble. For her own sake as well as Ruby's well being. "Ruby, I came here in the middle of the night for you, can you at least spare me the arguing for tonight?" Was she being pushy? Of course. Not to mention awful in how she twisted her arm like that. She felt it was, to some degree, justified. She didn't want to spend here any longer than necessary and wanted to get Ruby somewhere she would feel safe. Or did she just want to get home and have it over with?

The sudden concern and sadness that blossomed on the younger girl's face made it obvious, Blake did it for herself. How else could she defend herself from causing this sort of pain and guilt? "You're right, fine." Ruby gave in and approached Blake. With a moment of hesitation, she climbed her back.

Blake wasn't the strongest of people, but then again, Ruby wasn't that heavy, which seemed to balance itself pretty nicely. Making sure she held the girl's legs without them slipping or anything, she took a deep breath and began to walk. "Try to cover our head from the rain."

"Right." Ruby answered and with that, came silence. Not exactly silence, as the rain was still present around them, together with her own footstep, which for some reason she paid extra attention to. What a lousy savior she was, a knight huh? A black one, at best. Even then, a knight, in general, should have honor and some rules. She wanted to shake her head but stopped herself. It would seem odd to do that with Ruby so close to her. It wasn't important, whether she was a villain or not in this story, Ruby needed someone to come to her aid, it just happened that she was the only one able to do that. Last resort, nothing more. "I'm sorry." Ruby's raspy voice brought Blake's attention back to reality, as she tilted her head as if to try and glance at the younger girl who was currently on her back.

"What for?" It was a dumb question, Blake knew why. She made that guilt happen.

"For making you mad." Came Ruby's reply.

Blake almost laughed at that, keeping that urge at bay to not upset the girl further. "I'm not mad."

"It's raining, it's late at night and I made you come for me. Why shouldn't I think you're angry with me?" That was a good point yet Blake wasn't mad. She was frustrated earlier and felt at ease ever since she... Well, intercepted the girl, would that be a proper way to call it?

"You needed help and you asked me for it, so I came. I thought we're friends, isn't it what friends do for one another?" Blake's eyes grew wide as she felt the girl squeeze her tighter. She decided it was better to just ignore it, making the other girl self-conscious or simply calling her out on things she did right now might not be the best course of action. "Besides." Instead, she decided to shift the mood of the topic in a different direction. "It was your first time, right? That means I can't be mad. You experienced something new and next time you'll act according to your experience." This all sounded better in her head when she heard herself say it out loud like that it just sounded so... Lame. "If you do it again and end up in the same spot? Then I'll consider getting mad." What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, no? She stopped mid-step at that thought, a thought that got her by surprise, one that went past her subconscious inner censorship. She forced herself to move forward. If anything, she didn't want to be questioned right now. Not over this.

"Thanks." Ruby simply said before continuing. "I still feel bad for worrying you."

Blake wanted to say something, but she stopped as she noticed that they were getting closer to their destination... Except this wasn't their destination. Or was it? It was Blake's place that they were getting closer to. She wasn't sure if it was just her getting tired or some other reason for why she asked this, but before even thinking twice, it just left her mouth. "Mind spending tonight at my place?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and the next chapter was supposed to be one slightly lengthier chapter, but because of everything going on in the world, which in a way affects my writing, I decided to chop it down into smaller pieces. What I originally planned would be way longer than I suspected it to be anyway, as it is always whenever I think about the length of my stories/chapters, as such I felt it wouldn't be that much of an issue if I chopped it down into smaller pieces. It also allowed me to shift the mood of those parts and have more focus and all that jazz.
> 
> If you expected a longer chapter, Sorry about that!


	10. Two worlds

Considering everything, Blake was glad for some of her past decisions. Nothing in relation to the current situation, although the reason she was glad was that they could be helpful right now. Sure, she questioned it every day ever since she got here, but perhaps it was simply some cosmic force looking over her. Yeah, as if. Or perhaps they did, and it was just their way of ensuring Blake of her position in whatever cosmic hierarchy or balance there was. Who knew she could go that deep in regards to her old makeup stuff. Regardless if it was just her clinging to her past life or any kind of supernatural, she still had it. Why was it important? Simply because she could use it to help Ruby clean all that makeup off her face.

Speaking of Ruby, now that she could see her face in a proper light and without all those rushed emotions, she fully appreciated the craftsmanship of whoever caused Ruby to look the way she did right now. Having this image before her versus what she remembered the girl looking like, really put it into her mind of how young the girl looked without any of this. Well, not young but... What? Childish? That wasn't really it. Or maybe it was? There was simply this roundness to her that made her look so... Again, what word could she use without making it sound as if she was insulting the girl? Naive was out of the question. Could someone even look naive? Perhaps. Pure wasn't quite right as well. Maybe young was the perfect balance between all of those. Either that or innocent charm.

Right now though, there was a completely different girl sitting before her. While part of her makeup was slightly ruined by the girl crying, Blake could still see the intent behind it. Her eyes seemed less round, smaller really, thanks to the eyeliner and eyeshadow that was applied, although that would be the final effect if she was to try and fix what was ruined right now. Concealer covered up mostly the bags under the girl's eyes. Something Blake herself often fought with, considering her night lifestyle. The next noticeable thing would be her lips. With crimson red lipstick, made to look fuller than they did previously. The overall face was contoured to take away from how round it naturally was while knowing what to look for and the good lighting, Blake once more saw the attempt, which made her face seem more almond-shape and as far from its original shape as possible. Regardless, whoever did this had to know what they were doing. Blake wasn't sure if in her prime she could achieve this type of look on someone like Ruby.

"I still think this could wait till tomorrow." Ruby mumbled. Blake didn't feel guilty for pushing this idea. Perhaps she read too many warnings how it ruins the skin and it just drilled itself into her subconscious? Maybe.

"It'll take a moment and you won't have to deal with it tomorrow." Blake began, and before Ruby could argue further, Blake decided it was a good moment to shift the topic to something nicer, partially because she wanted to cheer the girl up and to keep her from complaining. "You're a pretty girl, you know that?" She asked and glanced over Ruby's face as if to make a point she took time to look over Ruby's face.

Ruby's initial reaction didn't surprise Blake. She went silent and her eyes moved to the side, avoiding any direct eye contact. This was extra difficult considering Blake told her to not move her face while she was cleaning her face. "Well, Makeup can make anyone look pretty. Isn't that what's it for?"

There was a small number of people who would accept a compliment like that. "Implying you're not pretty without it?"

Ruby shrugged. "Eh...Maybe?" She offered shyly in return.

"You're just making your situation worse, what am I supposed to do? Letting it go would make it seem as if I agreed with that. If I continue you'll just get more embarrassed." Blake smirked, sometimes it's better to play open cards.

"Not like it matters." She spoke softly under her breath. Blake wasn't sure if it was aimed at her or was that just an off-hand comment. She clearly heard it, but then again it made little sense to her.

"I think it does, being confident about how you look is important." Regardless if she understood or not, she wouldn't let the girl slip into any kind of negativity. Not in regards to how she looked.

"Can you just help me clean this off, I'm really not in the mood for this sort of topic." Ruby grumbled in response and frowned clearly annoyed.

"I'll be done soon." With a deep breath, Blake began the process again. It wasn't a surprise when she asked the girl if she ever did anything like this and heard no for an answer. As such, she decided it would be better to do it for her. There's always a fear of messing things up when you do something for the first time, something she wanted to avoid right now. Although she wasn't sure why and when Ruby would wear makeup again, whatever the circumstances they would be better than the current ones.

"I didn't mean to sound angry I... I'm just tired." Ruby mumbled again.

"That's fine." While that ended up being her only response, she did consider saying something else. Was there anything else to say? Perhaps and yet she decided not to dwell too much on that. Was it her fault? It was, but would her admitting to it be accepted by Ruby? Would it just create a further conflict? Was it really worth admitting to something like that if the other girl was already this much on the edge? No, of course not. "I did mean it, though." She added with a smile, hoping it would come as more genuine and less as if she was teasing the girl. Like anything in her life, it didn't work out as well as she liked to. If anything, it got her the least desirable reaction. A simple shrug. There was nothing worse than apathy. If there was anyone who would know that, it was her. "You don't mind that I brought you here?"

"Hm? No, no, I'd prefer to be anywhere but home right now. I'd rather not explain myself to Yang in any way or form." Blake took note of how distracted the girl seemed, even if she was just sitting on a stool in her bathroom. She should wrap things up and let the girl rest. "It would just end in another argument." Ruby added and shook her head, which made Blake pull her hand back, but she didn't complain. Ruby so far was quite patient with just sitting there and having her face washed. "I'm tired of them."

Blake wasn't sure what to say to this. Whenever she heard something like this from anyone, what were the expectations put on her shoulders? To hug and tell them it'll be better? To nod in acceptance of their fate? Ignore it in the ever so popular idea of just being able to get it out of someone's system was enough. But what about those that listen, how were they supposed to feel? Ignore it? Build a carapace made from indifference and apathy? But how long till you grow numb from how thick that would become? Or should she just carry it with her, make it burden her, collect it from others till she falls over from the weight of it. Were others fine with this? Was it just her issue of not telling others about her problems while considering those two extremes being the only viable options others would have when encountering her issues.

This always happened when Blake tried to do something, anything proactive. She just wanted to distract Ruby for a short bit, lighten the mood and move on. Yet she overstepped the line and she ended up in this awkward situation. She did the only thing she knew how to do. She just moved on. There was nothing she could say or do that would make Ruby's situation better. "I'm done, although I still recommend you take a shower, even a short one. After that, you're free to go to bed." She finished her task and took away the small bowl with water, standing up she felt her legs having a jelly feeling to them. Like her legs were made out of marshmallows.

"That would be nice, thanks." Blake smiled at that response, it would hopefully make the girl feel a little bit better, at least physically. Emptying the bowl into the sink, she left the bathroom. The question was what now? The first idea was to shower, but it took her a split second before she understood the flaw in that idea. Ruby was currently occupying her shower. Maybe make something warm to drink? Yes, that sounded like a good idea. Even if Ruby was too tired to want to drink it, she could at least offer it. Not like one cup would be a waste, right? "Blake?" Hearing her name being called surprised her, turning around she found Ruby standing in the doorway that led to the bathroom. Noticing that she had her attention, Ruby continued. "You wouldn't have anything that I could borrow for the night, right?"

Borrow something? Blake wasn't sure she understood at first. It was the fact that this general something was attached to that question. Then her brain caught up with the night part of the question. Night, sleep, clothes to sleep! She wanted to facepalm at that, of course, what else, in context of everything, would Ruby ask about. "Yeah, sure. I should have a shirt and shorts laying around. Promise I didn't wear them after they were washed." As she started her response, she began to walk towards one of her drawers.

"That's not a big... I mean, yeah that sounds alright." Blake was glad for the answer since she didn't have anything else. As she found what she was looking for, she nodded to herself. Blue shorts and a black t-shirt with some logo on it. Was this a band she listened to? Or did she have this simply because it looked cool to her back in the day? Well, whatever. Not like it made any difference at the moment.

"There, they'll probably hang on you since... Well, you're smaller than me, but they should be good enough for one night" She explained as she threw the two pieces of clothing bundled together. Ruby managed to catch it and with a smile, she once more disappeared in the bathroom. Being alone again, Blake decided to follow up with her original plan, to prepare something warm to drink. Coffee was out of the question at this hour, besides she didn't really have that around here. As such the only logical option was tea. It was the usual really, just two cups instead of one. There was a moment of consideration, where Blake thought about how much sugar would go into Ruby's cup, but it wasn't that different from usual, as such the girl could put whatever amount she wanted. Who knows? Maybe she would prefer it more sweet than usual. Blake, while she had her so-called perfect tea, often modified that recipe depending on her mood. Sometimes it was stronger, sometimes she added sugar, not much by certain standards, but it was quite a change for her.

Once done, she glanced down at the drinks she prepared. Would this work? A question that caught her off guard. She wasn't sure what this would work for in the first place, or at least not consciously. To help Ruby? Perhaps, although not like the drink would do that in the first place. Maybe aid at any other attempt to make the girl feel better. She let out a deep sigh, she wanted to do that on so many occasions but stopped herself because of the girl being there. Was any attempt even made to help the girl? Of course not. Hot chocolate would be better. That or cocoa. Cocoa sounded better, at least to her. For the sole reason that she herself would prefer hot chocolate, that would mean Ruby would pick cocoa. Maybe. She didn't even have any kind of a sweet snack lying around, nothing. Her place resembled her life, devoided of any sweetness.

"All done." Ruby announced as she opened the door. That broke Blake out of her little loop she got herself into, as she glanced at the younger girl, she couldn't help but smirk.

"Look at you, being every's guy's dream." She couldn't help but joke as she saw the girl. Just as she predicted both were too big for the girl, although she could only assume the shorts were that, as the t-shirt covered them almost entirely.

The girl grew red and huffed. "Blake! I told you to stop that!"

Blake rose her hands in defense. "Hey, not my fault it's what guys apparently prefer. Anyway, I made us some tea, but feel free to skip on that if you just want to head straight to bed." She moved away from the counter if only for the girl to notice the two cups.

"Do I really look that bad?" This wasn't the first question tonight that confused her, at least this time it wasn't herself that was the source for that to happen.

"You look fine." Blake answered without even thinking about it. "You know, cute and all." She couldn't help her brow from raising though.

This didn't seem to help, as Ruby seemed more annoyed than before. "See, because you joked about it before I can't tell if you're just teasing me again or you're telling the truth."

Blake was... Shocked? Was she shocked? Surprised, to say the least, but perhaps the shock was the right word to describe her reaction. "I, uh, I did tease you, but I wasn't making that up." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, you're a pretty girl, with or without makeup, alright? And right now you're looking cute." What kind of situation did she just get herself into? As for Ruby, while she initially seemed to maintain the same face, it wasn't long before Blake noticed that a smile quickly started to peek through the cracks in her stern face. Blake rolled her eyes at that, was the girl getting back at her? Shaking her head. "You're being silly." She commented and moved forward, she too wanted to take a shower before bed.

Ruby moved to make space and headed towards the cups. She giggled, which brought Blake's attention. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that. I just... Well, I wanted to get back at you somehow and that's really the only thing I remembered from anything I read or saw. Girls doing that to their boyfriends or guys in general when they tried to tease them about their looks." Blake paused at that. There was a word in Ruby's sentence she hasn't heard for a long time. Not directed at her at least. Usually, she just filtered certain words when they just happened to be said around her. This time it was different. This time that word was aimed directly at her. "I uh... I borrowed some underwear as well, hope you don't mind?" Ruby added after a bit of silence with a sheepish smile.

"Huh?" Blake glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, yeah sure. I should offer that on my own, not a problem. Anyway, help yourself with whatever, I'll take a quick shower and we can call it a day. The right cup is yours, but I didn't add any sugar yet." Seeing the other girl nod, Blake finally barricaded herself from the world. She once more shook her head as she began to undress. Only now was she able to fully understand how sweaty she was from all her late time exercise of today. She smiled as she thought how much of a blessing her shower was right now. It was a matter of getting water just right and step in.

As water poured down her body, she felt her body tense as the temperature was different from that of her body. The tension didn't last long, her muscles soon relaxed under the warm stream of water. There was no question that her body enjoyed it to its fullest. She didn't wash though, no. With one arm against the wall, she rested her head against her forearm. Her other hand clenched into a fist as she raised it with the pure intent of smashing it against the wall. Just smash it and scream, again and again. That was the desire that filled her. As her arm swung towards the wall, it quickly lost its momentum. Instead, she simply placed her open palm against the green tiles. She slowly moved her hand against it, scraping her nails against the smooth surface. How she would love for it to be a normal wall, to scratch against it till her nails would break.

But she couldn't. She couldn't because of the reality of her situation. For one, the wall wasn't made out of brick or any other substance that could make it happen. It was covered in smooth tiles. Second, she couldn't scream nor start banging her fist against the wall. It was too late and Ruby was at her place. It was socially inadvisable to do such a thing. After all, that what she was, a socially adjusted rat. A rat trying to hide from the shadow that was her past. Nothing more than a rodent in the present. Spreading disease and misfortune.

It was because of Ruby that she had those moments of self-awareness. Because of her, parts of her past snuck up at her, reminding her of who she was and what she did. Because of Ruby, she grew self-aware of what kind of person she turned herself into because of that. She changed, but for what? For less of what she was. It wasn't a metamorphosis of the butterfly kind, where she turned from an ugly pest into a creature of beauty. No, she was like a cockroach, she simply shed her outer layer to grow. Even now she couldn't fully succumb to her emotions, she had to keep them at bay. Because of that overwhelming rationality that was still there, she knew she had to do something. Otherwise, she would grow mad. As she took a deep sigh, she made up her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, I again wanted to make it longer but stuff came up and I decided to cut it into what I consider the minimum length. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, I apologize.
> 
> So uh... I hope you enjoyed!


	11. An Open Secret

Once Blake got out of the shower, she could hear Ruby talking in the room outside. A moment and some listening in later, Blake deduced that she had to be on the phone. With who? She wasn't sure. The only person she could call and at this time that came to mind was Yang. Maybe dad. Maybe either of those was checking on her? She never really gathered how protective they were of the younger girl. Shrugging, she dried herself. There was a short consideration to dry her hair with a blow dryer, but it was late. She never really take late showers like this, as such there never was a need to dry her hair at a time like this. Still, she waited. She didn't want to stumble upon the conversation halfway through, letting her mind try and piece together all the bits and information and try to glue it together into some narrative. She was afraid of what type of monstrosity her mind could come up with. She learned to not trust her mind when it came to Ruby.

"I'm done." Blake announced as she left the bathroom. Glancing around, she noticed that once Ruby was done with her phone call, she just sat there on the couch, not doing much but idling. Once Ruby noticed her, she yawned and waved in her direction. Blake just shrugged and smiled at that, joining the girl on the couch. Reaching out for her cup, she felt the coldness against her palms. What a horrible fate for a cup of tea. "You didn't go to bed yet?" She glanced at the other girl, only to see her troubled face at the question.

"Well, actually I was waiting for you to ask if I could get a pillow and a blanket, I don't see any here." Ruby smiled sheepishly and it took Blake a moment to realize something.

She didn't think about this. About how they would sleep. Considering that she had no issues sleeping next to the girl, she simply shrugged. "We'll just share the bed for tonight."

"Eh?!" The loud way the girl expressed her shock startled Blake, as she glanced towards the younger girl, she saw her turning red.

"No Ruby, not for that." She frowned, although it was a fake gesture. She very well knew that this here girl was too... Too what? Pure? Innocent was the better word. She was too innocent to think of it as anything but sleeping. Well, at least her teasing had the right effect.

As the girl grew even redder, a feat that was quite admirable, Ruby's eyes shrunk, as she attempted to speak. "Eh? What? No!" Blake couldn't help but giggle at her reaction. While Ruby didn't notice that initially, she soon caught up as Blake's giggle evolved into a laugh. Why did she laugh? Blake wasn't sure. It was everything of today culminating up to this point, in which she teased the girl about something like sleeping together and the double meaning behind such a phrase. Would it be this hilarious otherwise? Of course not. But she just had to let it all out in one way or another.

Besides, it didn't take long before Ruby understood that it was all a joke. Why did she even take it seriously for a moment? Blake wasn't sure either. Regardless, the younger girl joined her in laughter. Minutes passed, before both of them could contain it, stifling a few giggles before both had to take a breather. She reached out to ruffle the dark hair of the younger girl. "Did you thought I was serious?"

Ruby rubbed her neck as she endured the ruffle, smiling sheepishly "Well I just... It surprised me I guess." The girl reached for her cup and finished her tea. "After today, can you blame me?"

Today huh? Blake always considered herself to be curious like any other person, yet it was a rule she followed to not get too nosey. After all, she tried to act the way she wanted others to act towards her. Maybe it was for both of them today to act... Odd, for lack of a better word. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask what was on her mind. "What... I mean, what actually happened today anyway? At the club I mean."

Ruby let out a small sigh. "I don't know..." She shrugged. Blake remained silent, as this couldn't be all that the girl wanted to say. Which was correct, as Ruby continued a moment after. "I panicked, it's all."

Blake tilted her head to the side, like a curious cat as she looked at Ruby. "Panicked over what? Loud music?"

"No, no, I'm not that... Pathetic." Ruby chuckled and followed that with a weak smile. "We got in and I felt excited, but once inside they all... I mean the girls I went with, they all went their own way and I couldn't decide with who to go, so I sort of stood there till it was too late." Ruby let out another sigh. "I'm stupid, I know. I could call one of them, but at first, I didn't want to seem lame to them so I tried to do something. I don't even know what." Ruby looked down her cup, even from Blake's angle she could tell that there was barely any liquid left inside. "I ended up at the bar. I ordered something soft, hoping I could sip it till I noticed one of them. Then there was this guy and his friend."

Blake frowned at that. "Did they... Try something on you?" It wasn't odd to feel anger in a situation like this. Even the idea of something like that. No, that didn't happen, otherwise, they wouldn't be drinking tea right now. Still, the idea of even trying to do anything.

"W-What? No! No, of course not." Ruby leaned back to rest against the couch. "In hindsight, they were kind of nice, a bit silly but in a good way. One of them was very obvious about doing the wingman routine for the other." The redhead chuckled at that. "Not very subtle, those two." Ruby's fingers tapped against her cup as she paused her story. Blake once more remained silent, simply giving the girl all the time she needed to tell her tale. Or to decide it was over. While crossing a line with her question, Blake wasn't greedy. If Ruby decided she didn't want to talk about it? So be it. "It's just that... Everything accumulated. I'm not very good with new people and it was a new environment and everything. I started feeling scared. I felt this bubble growing inside of me and I excused myself and ran to the bathroom." Blake grimaced as the other girl let out a dry chuckle. "That's really the only part you didn't know. I felt stupid for what I did so that just got onto the already growing pile of anxiety and I wasn't sure what to do so..."

"So you called me." Blake finished for the girl, who nodded in return. "Last question and I promise we can go to sleep." Blake started, but paused, wanting to see Ruby's reaction. To no surprise, the girl was compliant. Blake started to see this as an issue. Sometimes saying no was alright. Still, she started so there was no point in making this into some kind of weird lesson. She might as well ask. "Who did you talk to when I was in the shower?"

"That? Oh, one of the girls called. They couldn't find me anywhere so they grew worried. I told them I met a friend and since I couldn't find them anywhere I decided to hang out with them." Ruby shrugged. "You know, a little lie to save the face."

"That's fine. Oh, I almost forgot." She frowned and raised her hand, only to place it on the girl's head with a little extra force.

"Ow! Hey." Ruby placed her own hands at the sides of her head since Blake's head was crowning it at the moment. "Was this a bad or a good pat?" She asked, genuinely confused.

"I don't know, both I guess." Blake shook her head. "You're not pathetic, alright? I got issues the first few times I went to a club because of the loud music."

This just made the younger girl curious. She leaned a bit forward as her eyes focused on Blake entirely. "Really?"

"Really, but that's a tale for another night. We should head to bed." As Blake stood up, she felt her hand being grabbed. This stopped her in mid-step as she looked down. Ruby was looking up at her with a troubled expression. "Yes?" She asked although she knew where this was going.

"You sure it's okay if we sleep in the same bed? I'm fine sleeping on the couch." Ruby asked quietly.

"Alright, if you convince me why, I'll bend to your request and let you sleep on the couch. So why wouldn't it be okay?" If Ruby wanted to go the long way, she would play along.

"Eh?" Ruby wasn't expecting this type of trail. Blake assumed as much. Ruby expected her to just tell her it's fine and go with it. If anyone asked her, it served the younger girl right for asking questions she didn't want an answer to. "I-I mean, isn't it..." Ruby paused once more, her eyes moving everywhere but to look at Blake. "Intimate?"

Blake had to give it to her, she actually had an answer. One that could potentially win her case. Potentially, at this point, Blake was too lazy to look for anything Ruby could use to sleep on the couch. Maybe if this happened earlier. A big if. "No, it can be intimate, but doesn't have to." And since the girl was being extra about it, Blake didn't feel bad about teasing her a bit. As her brow raised, she glanced down at the younger girl. "Do you want it to be intimate?"

There was a moment as Ruby stared at Blake, not providing an answer. Was this a deer caught in the headlights situation? There was no other explanation. Finally, the girl shook her head. "N-No, of course not."

Blake just smiled and reached out towards the girl to help her get up from the couch. "Good, then let's get some sleep."

oooOOOooo

Sleep huh? Sleep was what her body yearned. She felt exhausted beyond belief, both physically and mentally. Yet sleep would not come to her. It was her mind that didn't let her fall into slumber. It tormented her with those thoughts that wandered in such loose directions, constantly changing topics, and no matter how hard she focused to not think about anything or even focus on the darkness of her closed eyes, there always was something that broke her concentration and made her mind wander once more. It wasn't anything new or special, this much she knew. Not the first night her mind felt restless for whatever reason. The difference was that usually she would get up, do something on her phone or laptop and head back to sleep with more success. This time she couldn't. Even the thought of forcing herself up was exhausting, yet she just couldn't fall asleep.

Was it because of the girl that laid beside her? If the answer was yes, would Blake be blaming Ruby for her inability to sleep? Whatever the answer was, she wouldn't blame her. Yet her thoughts always, in some way, found her way to the girl. From worries through sad to happy and silly. It was all there. It worried Blake, on top of tormenting her due to how exhausted she felt. The thoughts themselves were fine. In a way, it was nice to have someone to think about. It was some time since that last happened. Back when she belonged to a bigger group. This was exactly the issue she had right now. It was something she tried to build distance from. It was the past she tried to run away from, yet it kept chasing her. Or maybe...

...This was something else? Was her mind going in circles around Ruby because of today's events? Was today so similar to what happened on that damned day? Did she thought that Ruby...

"Hey, Blake?" The quiet voice from behind broke her line of thought. So Ruby couldn't sleep as well, huh?

"What's up?" She answered. She wanted to make her answer as long as she could, to let the girl know that she wasn't... Sleepy? Well, she was sleepy, but she couldn't exactly make that happen. Awake was a better word.

"Can't sleep, huh?" It sounded more like a statement, which of course was correct.

"Yeah, it's pretty annoying." For a moment Blake was afraid that Ruby would understand her words incorrectly. As if she blamed Ruby for being annoying right now. Yet Blake was too tired to act upon that.

"It is." Luckily, she didn't. Maybe Ruby was too tired to worry about everything at this moment as well? Or Blake didn't give the girl too much credit. "I didn't tell you the whole truth." The younger girl continued.

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." Blake would never try to squeeze any kind of truth from anyone. Even if she knew someone was lying, it wasn't something she felt like was worth doing. Lies and secrets, she had her share and it felt hypocritical for her to try and pry others open. She could ask but if someone insisted on not telling the truth or not telling anything at all? Fine by her.

"I know." Came a simple answer and at first, Blake thought that Ruby decided to not tell her, taking to heart Blake's words. Yet that wasn't the case, as the younger girl soon followed with more. "I just think that you deserve it, even if you don't think the same way." It started to intrigue Blake, for however much energy she could spare to feel in any way curious. Was there some weird, odd and dark secret? "I mean, I didn't lie when I explained myself earlier, I just... I didn't say the whole truth." Ruby took a deep breath. "I knew what they were after, I wasn't sure if it was... Something for fun or something serious. Regardless it wasn't important. I..." The way Ruby stopped herself was odd. It almost made Blake turn around to look at the younger girl. Yet she didn't want to do anything that would completely stop the girl from telling what she was about to say. She remained frozen in place, too afraid that if she did anything more than just breath, Ruby would lock up. "I already... I mean... I was too anxious to tell that to a stranger. At the same time I was afraid that because of how I am, something would happen. I would dig my own grave if I didn't act the right way. It's what really got to me. It's why I panicked." Ruby allowed for the final pause to settle in. "That I already like someone."

Blake required a moment to properly register that Ruby was done saying her secret. Another moment had to pass for her to understand what she meant. Ruby lo... Had a crush on someone. This... This shouldn't be important. Not for Blake. Sure, she could be helpful, supportive, or whatever Ruby needed, but this shouldn't feel... Important. It just felt odd. Deep inside, she felt... What? Worried? Probably. Just by what she heard tonight from the girl, she knew that her feelings were crystal clear, pure. Such a feeling from a girl like Ruby had to be what made heaven if it did exist. Yet the cynic inside her quickly brought her back down to earth. She didn't know many people around Ruby. If anything, the only people she knew were Yang and Weiss. Whoever it could be that was blessed by Ruby's feelings, could be an awful person. Yet love was a cruel mistress, it blinded you. She didn't want the girl to end up in the arms of a sociopath. But she couldn't interfere in any way. If there was a moment to follow her own words about minding her own business, it was right now. Regardless, she still wanted to show that she's happy for the girl, that there was nothing wrong with what she did and why she did it. With a small sigh, she forced herself to turn around. She felt rude to be told all these intimate things with her back towards the girl, she might as well continue this more properly.

What happened next, Blake couldn't explain. Once she turned away, she saw a pair of stars. The same stars that judged her whenever she looked up the night sky. She instinctively jumped back, landing on the floor. She felt nothing but fear, as it didn't stop her from slowly crawling away from the bed. It wasn't possible and yet here it was. Punishment for all the things she had done. She always felt like she would be ready if a day like this would come, yet she felt nothing but terror. Her primal instincts kicked in and told her to run, to getaway. To escape.

"B-Blake?!" Voice, Ruby's voice. Blake blinked and where there were stars, was now the younger girl looking both perplexed and scared.

"Ruby." Her voice was shaking, she could hear it, she couldn't control it.

"What's going on?! What happened!" Ruby jumped off the bed but didn't move closer, struggling about what was the correct thing to do in a situation like this.

What did happen? With a sigh, Blake rubbed her eyes with one hand. "It's nothing, I'm just delirious from lack of sleep and... I just... I thought I saw something and it scared me." Her eyes, of course. Ruby's eyes had to be open, they had to catch a little bit of shine and her brain just... Made things up. Stars in her room, as if that was possible. "My brain isn't used to someone sleeping beside me, it's all."

Ruby took a moment to make sure everything was alright, only to sigh at that. "I told you I should have slept on the couch." She reached out towards Blake. "You fine now?"

Blake just smiled, taking Ruby's hand and standing up with the girl's help. "Yeah, I'm fine." As soon as she was up on her feet, she was pulled into a hug. Surprisingly, sure, but the girl had to be worried, right?

"You're not fine." Ruby stated, tightening the hug. "I know I'm slow, but even I noticed that you're not fine, Blake." Ruby continued, which left Blake speechless. What was she to say to this? "And I know that... That I'm me, I'm useless, but you helped me out so much and I want to be there for you, Blake. I want to be able to help." Blake looked down at the other girl, only to meet her silver eyes staring intently up at her. "Now you know that I know. So you can't just avoid it!"

There was... Certain resolution behind Ruby's words. Not just words, but her eyes. Something she hasn't yet seen. Blake couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of it. She didn't care if her initial reaction surprised the other girl. She simply placed a hand on top of her head and pulled Ruby back into the hug. "I'm not, you're right." She allowed her fingers to brush through the short hair of the other girl. "That's why I decided I should go back home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I consider this a short chapter. I think I know what I mean by short chapters. It's when I planned out a longer chapter, but because of time I decided to cut it if the "plot" allowed for it, so those interested in reading it wouldn't have to wait too long. While long chapters are fine and people enjoy them, I think it's the consistency that helps to keep track of what's going on without forgetting too much or having to re-read the whole thing.
> 
> I'm not doing too good, that's really why these chapters were coming out so sparsely as of late. I wouldn't bother saying this if it didn't affect what you came here, stories. Still, I hope you enjoyed this and can forgive me for the sloppy updates.


	12. Running Away

Blake's eyes slowly opened. Even before her consciousness fully rebooted, she could tell how exhausted she still was. Yet there was a reason for her to wake up, or rather cling to her consciousness and not just go back to sleep. It all felt odd, and soon she understood why. She wasn't laying on the bed properly. What was a proper bed lying position? Well, most often it considered laying with your head on the pillow or at least on one of the edges of the bed, preferably parallel to the longest side of the bed. If such is present. In her case, she was in the middle of said bed, curled up. Her position was the second thing that was odd. Usually, she enjoyed beds that allowed her to fully stretch without her legs as much as going over the edge of that bed. Finally, she wasn't alone. Besides her laid Ruby. In a similar position and close to her. While they didn't exactly hug or anything, Blake found that one of her arms was around the girl, who was curled against her chest at very close proximity.

Why? That was a good question. Blake didn't really remember much once she told Ruby what she planned. They just had to hug and fall asleep like that, later subconsciously getting into the most comfortable position. What else could happen? Not much, especially considering they still had their clothes on. That last one, was it a joke to cheer herself up, or to reassure herself that nothing occurred between them? Blake wasn't sure. It was too early to think logically. Or critically. Before she could do anything about her current predicament, she noticed that Ruby started to wake up as well. Now, thinking under pressure was not something she liked to do. Especially not after a few hours of sleep after an exhausting day very early in the morning. Yet this time she had no choice. She had to. With all her will focused on assessing what would be best, she decided that pretending to be asleep was the right answer to her predicament. Why? Well, if she suddenly changed the position, it would seem odd for Ruby. First of all, it would make things awkward between them since Ruby would learn that she was awake. While Blake herself didn't care much for it, Ruby could potentially make a fuss about it. Second, her suddenly taking the arm away would make Ruby think as if she was... Well, not alright with this. Which would be a lie, she didn't really care for her arm being around the girl. Regardless of the reason, she didn't want to...

...To scare her off? Didn't she want exactly that? Didn't she want to push the girl away so she leaves her alone, which would be better for both of them? This is why she couldn't trust herself around Ruby. Things just didn't make sense when she was around.

While all of this went through her mind, she waited for Ruby to shake the sleep off of her head, grow aware of what kind of position they both were, and move away. As if to prove her previous thoughts, Ruby didn't do anything like that. No, once Blake could hear a small gasp from the younger girl, the redhead froze. Her next move wasn't one to build distance between them. Oh no, quite the opposite. She moved slightly closer and... Nuzzled her face against her chest? Blake wasn't sure, she couldn't see, and just from feeling something brush against her shirt, it was hard to deduce what exactly happened. Yet even this odd girl couldn't defy logic for too long, and she had to move away. Blake could feel the girl move and turn to face the opposite side of the bed. Blake counted to five before she dared to open one of her eyes to make sure that her mind wasn't just playing tricks on her. She let out a small sigh of relief as she saw the back of Ruby's head.

She closed her eyes again and waited a moment, before doing a fake stretch and turning around as well. It had to be early, at least for them. With that in mind, she allowed herself to fall asleep once more.

oooOOOooo

Leaving the bathroom, Blake glanced around the room. It was still early, at least for her liking. Not to mention that she simply felt tired, no matter what time it was. Which just proved that dealing with Ruby was exhausting. Speaking of the girl, how much time did she have before she had to be back home? Last time she was going out with the girl to see a movie, it seemed like she was on a tight clock, would that mean she should get home soon?

Yawning she began her venture back to the bedroom. She could always wake the girl up and ask her. Or should she? Was there a plan she had when she agreed to go to the club with her friends? That was a possibility, further, it could make the girl panic. Blake could do a lot of things in the morning, but dealing with a panic-induced Ruby? That wasn't on the plate. As she stood in the doors to the other room, she glanced at Ruby. The younger girl managed to turn around, facing the spot that Blake used to sleep. Ruby's face looked so peaceful. Serene. That was yet another thing she hasn't seen on the girl's face. Serenity. It wasn't anything odd to stare, just for a little bit. While she often woke up before other people and saw their faces, it wasn't exactly the same. Ruby was different. Why? She wasn't sure.

Regardless, waking her up would just be a bad thing, there was no going around it. Too many things pointed in that direction. Which left Blake with worrying about Ruby's situation. Besides, she didn't want Yang to burst into her small place and finding Ruby sleeping in her bed. That... That could complicate things.

Yang, that's right! An idea formed inside her head, she could do a little gamble. This would also mean that she would have to do something bad, which wouldn't be anything new. She shrugged at that. If her gamble would turn out horribly or Ruby would dislike what Blake was about to do? Well, perhaps she would start learning what an awful person Blake was. Regardless, there was a lot to gain and little to lose.

oooOOOooo

Finding Ruby's phone wasn't difficult, and luckily the girl didn't have any kind of code put on it to block it from awful people like herself. What was the plan? To send a message to Yang from both her own phone and Ruby's phone, so it would seem as if something happened and the girl sought refugee at her place. Yet now that she had Ruby's phone in her hand, she wasn't sure what to type. Then there was the idea of how far her friend lived and how much time should pass between their messages. Blake wanted to sleep in some more, which meant she would have to wait for that or worse, she could accidentally fall asleep while waiting.

But what if... Blake smiled as her morning creativity turned out to be better than she expected.

_"I'm at Blake's place. She told me it was better if I told you."_

There, as she stared at the message, her hesitation grew more and more to tap the send icon. No, she shook her head and tapped it anyway. There was no time to second guess herself. Now she just had to do the same from her phone.

_"Ruby's at my place. I think something happened. If I learn anything I'll tell you later."_

Sending the message she smiled to herself. Hopefully, this would work out. Stretching she laid on the couch, feeling satisfied with her effort. If something did went wrong? She would be woken up later by Yang banging at her door. As the satisfaction spread through her mind, Blake didn't even notice when she fell asleep.

oooOOOooo

"Blake wake up!" Yell accompanied by the sound of someone crashing through the doors and onto the floor was not the preferable sound to wake up to for Blake. She sat up in an instant, her brain trying to catch up with the events of right now. What was she doing in the other room? Why was Ruby yelling and tumbling through her place? Was something on fire? Did someone got hurt?

"What? What? Ruby, what's going on?!" She focused her eyes on the younger girl. Wait, Ruby, that meant...

"I overslept! I should be home by... For a long time by now!" Blake blinked as she observed the girl walk-in circles around the room.

"Ruby."

"This is terrible."

"Ruby..."

"Yang will kill me!"

"Ruby!"

"No, not Yang. Both dad and her will, I'll be grounded for like... Forever and a day!"

"RUBY!" Raising her voice was another thing she didn't enjoy in general, especially not shortly after waking up, which annoyed her extra about her situation. Still, it got Ruby's attention as she froze, her silver eyes stuck on her like a deer caught in headlights. "It's fine, you're covered."

"Huh?" It was Ruby's time to blink, as she stared at her in pure confusion. "W-Wait, you didn't tell Yang about... Well, about everything, right?"

"Of course not." Blake couldn't help but feel a little offended at that. But what else the girl would assume, right?

"Then what... Why... How am I exactly covered?" Ruby grimaced as she once more started to walk from side to side.

"You sent a text message to Yang in the morning, followed by mine." Blake explained calmly. Even now she wasn't one hundred percent alright with telling the girl she used her phone without authorization.

"I did?" Ruby asked, baffled by the previous statement that Blake made.

"Well... You didn't, but your phone did." Blake smiled sheepishly. This took a second, but the realization hit. Ruby glanced at her phone that was lying on the table and walked towards it. Guilt, Blake felt guilty right now. She was questioning her actions right now, even if they seemed like the next best thing earlier this morning. All the possibilities of what she could do differently and still achieve a similar effect started to float around her head. Yet, here she was, living through the consequences of her actions.

"You used it." Ruby looked through her phone.

Was it a disappointment? It had to be. Wasn't that the plan? To show the girl that she wasn't perfect? No, that she wasn't a good person. Then why did she regret it right now? "I'm sorry."

Ruby glanced at her phone thoughtfully. "That's fine." Ruby said after a moment. "You didn't... I mean, you just sent the message right?" The younger girl looked hopefully at her.

"Of course! Nothing more, just... Just the message." This was getting awkward, even for her.

"Why didn't you just wake me up? I mean... It worked, I think. So you could just wake me up and we could do it each on our own, right?" Ruby was right, of course. What she said made perfect sense.

"I wanted to but you were asleep and you looked so..." So what? Cute? Was that the word? No, that wasn't something she could say to Ruby. Even if she would mean it. "...Peaceful. I didn't want to wake you up."

"O-Oh!" Ruby's silver eyes went wide at that, was saying peaceful still too much? Most likely, as she could notice Ruby's face growing a bit darker. Not much, but noticeably. "W-Well, next time just wake me up, alright? And thanks. For wanting to cover for me." The redhead offered a small smile, and with all the circumstances around it? It felt like the best smile Blake ever saw.

"Yeah, if there's a next time, I'll just wake you up." She nodded.

"T-There's still a different issue." Ruby mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Did Blake forget about something? She thought she covered everything.

"My clothes! I can't go back in my dress!" Ruby announced, flailing her arms as another wave of panic started to slowly set in.

"Why not? I think you look nice in it." Blake answered, not really understanding what the issue was.

Ruby clenched her jaw visibly, as her cheeks grew a slight shade of pink. "B-Blake, I don't need your... Your compliments right now. I-I mean thank you b-but we need to figure this out, you have to help me!"

"With what? Ruby, calm down and tell me what's wrong with your clothes? What? The smell? Is it torn somewhere?" Blake glanced towards the chair where her dress was placed at. Sure, it would make it look all folded and whatnot, but what dress does look pristine when you go back home in it.

Ruby took a deep breath. "Because officially I was not dancing and looking pretty in a club last night." She answered calmly and slowly. If Blake didn't know Ruby better, she could swear the girl was trying her hardest to not be patronizing at the moment.

"Oh... Right, sleepover." Blake snapped her fingers as it all started to make sense. That was an issue.

"Exactly! What should I do? I can't go out like this, what if I accidentally bump into Yang? Or someone sees me and tells Yang? I mean, it's not often anyone she knows can see me in a dress. Not that kind of dress!" Ruby looked around as she started to bite into her knuckle as if one of those actions could help her to figure things out.

"Just... Just borrow my jacket and some pants. Short pants, since they would hang on you otherwise." Blake shrugged.

"And how exactly will I explain this to Yang? Coming back in your clothes?" Tsk, Who knew Ruby could get snappy. Well, as much as she expected from the girl to be that way. Maybe panic-induced mornings weren't her thing as well. Who knew they had so many things in common.

"You spilled something on yourself and I talked you into just wearing my clothes so you could go back home and change. It's not like it doesn't happen. We'll sprinkle that story with some of the previous lies and there, it'll all make sense." Blake felt her lips tilt into a smile. A satisfied smile as she already started to form a plan or at least a story she could tell Yang. Is this how villains felt when they finally figured out how they would get rid of that pesky hero that kept on interfering with their plans?

"You sure that'll work?" Ruby wasn't fully convinced, it was her life... Well, her... Her something at stakes. What exactly would happen? Oh right, being grounded.

Blake stretched at that. "It will work, trust me. I'll make sure of it." The smirk on her face had to work, or she hoped that was the case, as Ruby collapsed onto the couch with a deep sigh.

"You better be right. I'd hate to get into another fight with Yang."

oooOOOooo

"So it's just for a week?" Ruby asked. It wasn't the first time she asked today. Although it was the first time she asked once they left Blake's place.

"Yes, Ruby, just for a week." The rest of the day was spent on being lazy. Although it was a bit... What's the word. Awkward? Not exactly. Just very silent. Expect for Ruby asking the same question from time to time. Not enough to annoy her, luckily. Blake thought about just letting Ruby go home by herself, considering the odd mood between them, but it would seem rude. Besides, she had to talk to Yang. Ruby was too pristine to lie. Besides, she wanted to tell Yang personally that she would visit her parents.

"Hey, Blake?" At Ruby's words, Blake couldn't help but finally sigh. This was the right frequency to annoy her.

"You just asked, Ruby." She answered without even looking at the younger girl

"No, no! That's not it. Will you bring me something back?" Blake blinked as she heard this question.

"What?" It just left her mouth. She didn't really expect anything like that and so out of nowhere.

"W-Well..." Ruby had to notice her reaction, most likely interpreting it her own way. Oh well, she could at least get some explanation from the girl. "It's just that me and Yang, we had this thing that whenever one of us went out somewhere, somewhere outside of the city I mean, like a trip. We always brought the other one something. I just thought that... Well, you know." Ruby smiled sheepishly. "I would bring you something the next time I'd go somewhere too!"

"Oh" What else was there to say? Perhaps an answer would be appropriate. "Sure." She shrugged, it seemed innocent enough. Besides, her answer made the younger girl grin happily, a sight that provoked her own smile to shyly appear on her lips.

"Great! Oh, right. You won't mind if I still message you, right? I mean, when you're out of the town." Ruby asked, a relatively simple question, but Blake stopped herself from giving an automated answer. Did she really want that? Wasn't her reason to go back home related to Ruby? To get away from her? To clear her head? The more she thought about it, the more she confused herself about the idea she herself came up with.

"I think we should take a break from that." She finally answered.

"Oh." It was a simple reaction to her words, but one that crushed Blake like a ton of bricks. It wasn't just the disappointment on her face, but the pure sadness that quickly surfaced behind her silver eyes. Why? She wasn't sure. What was so important about those few messages they sometimes shared at a late hour. No, that... That wasn't important. Perhaps... But if she backed off, Ruby would know it's because of her reaction. No, that wouldn't do. She bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to quickly think of a solution.

"S-Since I'll be away for a few days, you can just call me." Blake blurted out in desperation.

"Call you? Like... On the phone?" The sudden one-eighty on Blake's stance had to take Ruby by surprise, as she even questioned what kind of call she had in mind. Both that and the proposition itself probably.

At least it went away, the sadness behind her eyes. Blake had to control herself to sigh in relief. What an odd feeling to have about someone else. "Yeah, since... Since we won't see each other and you won't have a chance to visit my place." Blake shrugged, trying to make it seem as casual as possible. She hoped that Ruby was surprised enough earlier to not notice the slight shift in her behavior.

"Yeah!" The sudden outburst from Ruby startled Blake, after which the younger girl cleared her throat to regain her composure. "I mean, sure, why not. If I find some time." Even if her words tried to seem cooler, the happiness behind her eyes sparkled like a new year's eve. And for a moment, Blake didn't regret her decision. It was a rare sight, but one Blake wished she could see as often as possible. Something she hoped would never grow old to her.

oooOOOooo

"Hey, you two." Yang waved as she opened the door, stepping to the side to let both Ruby and Blake inside.

"Hey, sis! What's cooking?" Ruby asked with a grin. Ever since Blake told her about calling her, the girl seemed... Well, happy. Very. Did she accidentally say something she shouldn't? Ruby didn't take it out of context in some crazy way, right? Hopefully.

"Huh? O-Oh! Em... I ordered some Asian food." Yang was clearly caught off guard with how perky Ruby was. Which reminded Blake that there was a... Well, half-truth version of events to cover certain things up. Something that Ruby did a horrible job of following. "Right, dad said he'll join us later and proposed we'd watch something together."

"Really?!" Ruby stopped dead in her tracks and focused fully on Yang.

"Yeah, though I told him your uh... Sleepover didn't work out so you might not be into it." The blonde explained, raising her eyebrow as she silently put in question what she was spoon-fed in the morning.

"O-Oh! T-That, right um... I'm better, Blake cheered me up. A-Anyway I'll go up now! I'm also totally for a movie night with you guys!" Ruby added with a grin. "Oh! Blake, how about joining us? I'm sure dad would love to meet you properly!"

"Huh? Oh, no no, I'll have enough parent stuff this week." Blake shook her head. Spending any more time in any kind of company was the least of her desires right now.

"Aw... Oh well, still thanks for everything. I'll go change, see you... I mean, talk to you soon!" With one last grin, Ruby dashed up the stairs and disappeared behind the door that led to her room. Blake found herself following the girl with her eyes and with a small smile. The same smile that would disappear once she noticed Yang, tapping her foot as she waited for answers.

"So what happened? Why did she run to you and why is she wearing your clothes?" Right, that was part of the plan, wasn't it?

"If you're asking why she ran, I'm not sure. There was some misunderstanding between her and her friends." Blake shook her head. "I didn't get much more than that."

"Right, and the other part?" Yang glanced towards the same room inside which Ruby disappeared but a moment ago.

"Eh, just a stupid accident. You know how Ruby is when she's on the edge." Blake shrugged. She got used to taking these gambles by now. She hoped Yang would fill in the blanks herself.

"Right." Yang nodded and with a sigh, she moved her hand across her face. "Well, at least she's in a better mood now." With a nod, the blonde once more focused her full attention on Blake. "You sure you don't want to stay around? I mean, even if you want to avoid dad, it'll be plenty of time before he comes home."

"I'm sure, I need to pack up." Blake said she wasn't sure how to announce her departure home to Yang, this seemed like a good enough way.

"Pack up? Like what?" Yang's brow furrowed at that.

"I'm gonna visit... No, I want to go home for a bit, it's all." Blake shrugged.

"Oh? Did something happen?" Yang's worry shifted slightly in a different direction.

"Yes and no. I just... I just need some time. I think seeing Mom and Dad will help with that." Blake's lips raised slightly in a sad smile.

"Right, ever since we meet you never really went home. Not even for holidays." Yang nodded. "So, how much? How long you'll be gone for?"

"I don't know, probably a week." Blake shrugged.

"Right." Yang crossed her arms. "And in reality? Spare me the version you told Ruby."

"Huh?" Blake's brow raised at that.

"You're not that good at lying, Belladonna. I can pretend I bought the weird little secrets you and Ruby have since at least she's happier nowadays ever since she started hanging out around you, but I won't stand here and act stupid with every lie you're trying to feed me. So tell me the truth." Yang killed the distance between them, Blake understood why. Her eyes gazed to the side as she released a tired sigh through her lips. Lowering her voice, but still too afraid to look at Yang, she gave what the blonde wanted from her. The truth.

"I might not come back at all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind words, even if that's not exactly what I'd like for people to focus after reading my stuff. Not that I'm mad, no, if anything I'm disappointed in myself. I'd rather have people, even if for a moment, forget about worries, then to re-ignite them in any amount, especially about a stranger on the internet.
> 
> But I'm still thankful, of course. I wanted to push this chapter as soon as I could, in order to put something out and show my gratitude, and while it's still later then I'd like it to be, I made sure to not delay it any further.
> 
> As for me, I'm the type of person who's aware that life is about ups and downs. I know that once we're in that low spot, we'll sooner or later get up. At least that's the preferable outcome and I always like to believe that's the case. That's why when I said I was down, I tried to be as casual and short about it as possible, simply informing people that I wasn't updating because of that current "down" position I had in my life. Since in the past there were times I didn't update because I was lazy or I simply had other things to do (Like vidyo gaemz).
> 
> Still, once more I wanted to thank you all for the kind words and wishes. Regardless I'll be more careful to not worry anyone too much in the future.
> 
> With that out of the way, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. I like to divide my stories into "arcs" or parts or whatnot and this sort of "ends" a certain arc of the story and I already have the next "part" planned, but I wanted to write at least 1 short story before coming back to this one. Sadly that short story will be a boring whiterose (get it cause all my stories are boring) so if you're here for that sweet ladybug, that'll have to wait.


	13. Welcome home...?

"Excuse me, miss? Your ticket please." As Blake glanced around, she quickly focused her attention on the man in the uniform, who was standing above her. She had to fall asleep, something she hated to do on any kind of public transportation, and yet without much to do, and at this late hour, it was difficult to stay awake.

"Oh, right, sorry. Here it is." Blake answered with a smile as she reached for her ticket. The man looked it over, glanced at Blake, and nodded, handing her the ticket back.

"Seems alright, have a good trip miss." The man tipped his hat and moved forward to do the same for the other few passengers that were with Blake on the train.

With a sigh, Blake glanced at the window. Due to it being dark outside and the bright lights on the inside of the train, all she could see was her own reflection. Something that was the last thing she wanted to look at, the source of her biggest problems. Herself. Closing her eyes, it was no wonder she fell asleep. She opened her eyes only to look up at the clock that was hanging just above the exit from her train car. Seeing it, she shook her head, more to fight off any sleepiness left from her head, as it wouldn't be a good idea to fall asleep by accident right now. Soon she would be home.

She once again considered if she should inform her mom about coming back, but again decided against it. Her first excuse was that she wanted to make something nice, to surprise her parents. Yet the more she thought about it, the more it came to the usual with her. It was her own selfish way of dealing with things. She didn't want to be bothered with her mom preparing something special. She didn't want to be bothered with questions about if something happened or not when she'll be at the train station and all that. Perhaps bugging her through the ride as well. No, it wasn't to surprise anyone and as such, it was to no surprise to anyone, that it was just her being selfish. Thinking about herself and no one else.

She shrugged. Was this coming back or was this a visit? That... That would be the main issue while she's here. Blake wasn't even sure how to decide if she should stay or not. What are the points to convince her one way or the other? Also, would those points be associated with the old or the new place of living? Where should she look for an answer to questions like that? Who is there to ask? People who wouldn't be biased about the situation. As such, she had to ask people for advice, without feeding them too much information.

Blake nodded and relaxed a bit, it seemed like a good enough plan. Then again she wasn't sure just how many people from her past would still be around. She cut herself from her old social circle abruptly and without a warning. They probably asked her parents if something happened or whatnot. Or maybe not? Who knew. If she won't meet anyone from her past or they won't want to talk to her, that will make it easier for herself, as she won't have to talk to anyone and just ponder about this on her own. Something she was used to.

As she was brainstorming this, it didn't take long before the train started to approach her station. With a sigh, Blake prepared herself mentally to visit the old.

oooOOOooo

Stepping outside of the train car, she fixed the laptop bag that hung from her shoulder and hooked the duffle bag over her other arm. Her luggage wasn't that heavy, most of the weight was the laptop. Why even bring her clothes with her, since she was coming home? She just knew that over those years away her taste in clothes and even underwear changed. She'd rather have something of her own to wear rather than rely on the old clothes that her mom still kept. Maybe.

Glancing around, the train station was empty. No wonder, as it was closed for the night. Well, the actual building, at least. Nothing new, since there was no point to keep it open if there were little to no travelers at night here. People mostly used the train from morning till evening, to get to their jobs in one of the two bigger cities that surrounded her poor little town and then come back home. Even then she heard that buses were winning the race. If there even was a race for customers between those two. There were some lights on the outside of the building, which in contrast to the emptiness and the surrounding night made the place just seem eerier. Regardless she was glad for them, as otherwise, it'll be completely dark out here. Besides, it would be spooky regardless if it had these dim lights or not.

Taking a deep breath she moved towards the outside set of stairs, that would lead her towards the town.

The sight before her was just as she remembered it. Since the train station was located on a hill, she got a good look at her old home. The center of the town was a bunch of tenement houses a few stores as well as some old buildings that served as office buildings for the post office and the governance body. Around that were suburbs with some houses but nothing else. No farms or factories. In a way, this little town felt like her own life. Pointless.

She let out a small sigh, something she didn't consider was the long walk, since there were no buses and she didn't inform anyone about coming back, there wasn't anyone waiting for her. Fixing her baggage, she slowly began the descent down the stairs.

There were plenty of memories attached to this place. Good, bad, pointless, funny, sad, anger-inducing. Even if most of her younger years she and her friends tried to get away from this place, it was still a place where she spent most of her life. Just glancing up and seeing the lights, she remembered that this topic was often raised with the local council members. Savings on the lights, to turn them off at night. Blake chuckled, they had to not make any progress on that ever since she left huh?

She wondered if anyone would recognize her? Was there even anyone left? What if it became a ghost city? This made her stop and glance at some of the shop windows. They were stacked. Mostly family businesses that supplied the locals. She shook her head, how did she even come to such a ridiculous conclusion. Ghost city. If anything, this would be a zombie city.

That made her giggle a tiny bit. That was her town's pride, that back in the days, probably even before her parents were born considering how old it was, they shot a semi-popular zombie movie. The old building was left unchanged and now served as a museum for cinematography, although it was basically a temple dedicated to that dumb zombie flick. She knew that place too well since... Well, his parents were the owners of it. She wondered if he still worked there. If he was even still around.

With a sigh, she glanced at the night sky. It was clear and unlike back in the big city, she could spot way more stars, like shining eyes peeking through a dark blanket. This made her smile bitterly. "I'm running away." She said out loud. Not to herself, but towards the stars. Was it an admission of guilt? Of course, what else? Was there anything to be proud of? Not really. Or maybe she was just stating the obvious. Was there any emotion attached to her little escape plan? No, well not exactly. Not towards the escape itself. More towards the reason for her to be on the run in the first place.

She hated that there were so many stars here. That was the first and main reason she wanted to be out of this town, to move out, to have her place somewhere where the stars couldn't reach her. She never told anyone, why should she? They wouldn't understand. They'd assume she's crazy or worse, that she's joking or making light of something important.

"Khh..." She gritted her teeth and moved her head to make sure that she saw the pavement before her and nothing else, as she quickened her step.

oooOOOooo

Her house was at the very edge of the town as if it was some kind of a border guard between it and the suburbs. As if anyone cared. City people probably didn't even know when they were leaving one and entering the other. Her house was a bit big when compared to other buildings, especially in the nearest vicinity. Her friends always called it a castle, mostly to tease her, she knew that, but it always made her feel bad. She never wanted to be someone that stood out, be it for good or bad reasons. As she moved to stand in front of the main door, she paused. There was no reason for it, it's not like she was fighting with herself between knocking or running away. She was already running away. You can't run away from running away, that's just silly.

At first, that was exactly what she wanted to do... Well, knock, not run away. But then she remembered what time of night it is, and she opted to simply use the doorbell. The familiar sound echoed inside the house after which Blake waited. Her mom had to be asleep, which explained why it took so long. If anything this made her feel worse for waking her mom up in the middle of the night.

Soon she heard footsteps on the other side together with some mumbling. It was odd to hear all of this as if her senses were sharpened by how quiet it was around. Dark and quiet. Once the voice got close enough, there was another pause. Blake knew why. Her mom was looking through the peeping hole. She tried to look as casual as possible through that little spying moment. Soon there was an audible gasp and Blake heard as all the locks were hurriedly unlocked and in a few seconds the doors opened

"Blake!?"

Smiling sheepishly and not sure what to do, she offered a small wave. "Hey, mom."

oooOOOooo

"So, how's the school going for you?" Her mom asked, breaking the silence.

"It's going fine. You already asked." Blake paused, clearing her throat. "Three times before."

The older woman blushed and turned her gaze to the side. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to nag you with the same questions." She once more glanced at Blake, smiling. "I'm just happy if a bit surprised that you decided to visit." Her eyes moved to the side for a split second. "You're positive that nothing happened? Nothing bad?"

"Yes, I just didn't want to meet anyone immediately after getting off the train." Blake let a small sigh. "I should have at least informed you."

"No, no, it's fine. It's your home, Blake. You can come in whenever you want." Her mom announced cheerfully, to which Blake couldn't help but to smile.

A bitter smile at its core, but a smile regardless. This awkward conversation was going on for about an hour. At first, there were some questions that Blake could answer, but it soon became one-sided and later it went into a silence that was only from time to time broken with the same question that Blake already answered. All over tea that wasn't to her taste, and while drinkable in its hot state, now it was cold swamp water to her at best. She wasn't trying to be critical, it was simply a fact. It was somewhere else that she learned to enjoy tea, and she never tried to get her mom to buy the tea she liked since it... Well, her mom enjoyed this one, so why should she bother her with this stuff. It's just tea, isn't it?

They did talk weekly over the phone, but it was for a few minutes. Typical questions with the same answers. At some point, Blake just decided those were calls to see if she was alive, nothing else. Not that she blamed her parents for it, she was the one who always kept conversations one-sided. With a sigh, she instinctively moved the cup to her lips, and as soon as she felt the cold tea hit her tongue, she cringed. No, this had to stop. For her sake and for her mom's sake. She faked a yawn and stretched. "Is my bed still intact?"

"Of course it is, your room hasn't changed ever since you left." The older woman answered with a smile. "I'll prepare the bed for you." Saying that she immediately started to get up.

"No, no! It's fine, I could sleep on a rock tonight, trust me. Besides, you're probably tired as well." Blake raised as well.

"Blake, you're home and I want you to feel at home. Now go have a shower, once you're out, your bed will be done and I'll be off your case for tonight, promise." Her mom said, already moving to leave the room.

"Mom, that's not..." She started, but paused, as she noticed the older woman turn her way and shake her head before winking at her and disappearing behind the doors. Blake let out a sigh. She could use a shower right now.

oooOOOooo

Entering her room, the bed was prepared for her just as her mom promised. Her eyes glanced around the room. It didn't change ever since she left. Posters of various rock bands were still hanging on the walls. From her times when she pretended she cared about pop culture. Various smaller and bigger stuffed animals were spread across the room in a strategic way. From her phase where she tried to act as if she had any taste. Part of her rooms was black, another colorful, and some parts bland. Some of it looked messy, while the other parts seemed tidy. Each of those small fragments was part of her past. A part of who she was, at least for a while, as she tried to find who she really was. In the end, she figured it out. She was a nobody. No, not a nobody. A monster, that's what she was.

It also showed that her mom had to leave things as they were, for the most part. There was no dust, so she had to do that much. Blake wasn't sure if she should appreciate it or not. In the end, she didn't really care. She wasn't living here anymore. Her mom should have to do whatever she wanted with this room. Or maybe that's what she did huh?

There wasn't much for the furniture. A desk, two drawers, and a wardrobe. The latter being quite massive, mostly for all the clothes her mom semi-forced her to buy... Well, bought it for her. Admittedly not all of it was bad... Actually, rarely anything her mom picked was bad. It was just that she disliked looking different each time she went out. Right, and of course her massive bed. Far bigger than the one in her apartment.

As her eyes focused on the bed, she noticed that on top of it was her old pajamas. The sight of which made Blake cringe. It was a dark lavender, the top had a hoodie and too long sleeve in which she could hide her hands. Contrary to that, the pants were a bit too short, revealing the lower part of her shins. Back in the day, it was her favorite pajamas. Made out of soft, fluffy material, with a black, sleeping cat on the front.

She glanced down at her own gray tank top and black shorts she now used as one of her sleeping sets. "Sorry mom, I grew out of these." She commented quietly, setting the thing onto the chair that stood next to the desk. While there, she reached towards the pants that were hanging from the same chair, as she wanted to get to her phone. Once she got that in her hands, she threw herself onto the bed, allowing her body to sink into the softness.

Closing her eyes, Blake allowed for the atmosphere of this place to engulf her. In a way it felt nice, being back home, in her old room. If only things didn't turn out as they did... Who knew if it wouldn't still be the norm for her...

Opening her eyes, she glanced down at her phone. She noticed she got a lot of messages waiting for her and considering that she didn't know that many people, it was pretty clear who sent them. If it wasn't the past that haunted her, it was the present. This made her angry. She already knew the content of those messages. A waterfall of excuses, apologies, pointless questions, and making her feel horrible. As if it was her fault that she had to run away. As if it was her fault that this girl attached herself to her like this. No, she didn't choose this. Neither Yang nor her sister. If anyone asked her, she'd immediately refuse, say no. Because this is the outcome of this. Frustration and pain. Sadness and anger. Not just for her, but for everyone involved. People should learn that she was a catalyst for disasters.

As her hand raised to throw the phone, she stopped herself. This was pointless. It was her fault. She allowed for this to happen, she grew weak and allowed Yang to get close. She could have done something to reject her in a firm way. But at least Yang could handle how awful she was. Maybe the blonde hoped that Blake would change over time? A pointless task, but still one that didn't require anything from her. Ruby? That was a different story. She did it herself. With Yang, she at least tried. It was her fault that Ruby felt the way she did. That she acted the way she did. If she left the girl alone, none of this would happen. For herself or for the younger girl.

With a defeated sigh, she decided to unlock her phone and see these messages. What she saw, made her eyes grow wide in shock. She thought it would be bad, that it would be Ruby blaming herself for her leaving, that she figured it out, or maybe that Yang told her. That all those messages would be the outcome of any of these things happening. No, it was... It was none of that.

 **Ruby:** _It's dangerous to travel alone, take these!_

Below that text message was a dump of various pictures. Some funny, some cute, a lot of them having both of these qualities. The time stamps were different on all of these, as they were added over time. Blake couldn't believe this. She glanced, scrolled through these, trying to find anything, something. But there was none of what she expected. No, just... This.

She felt the phone drop from her hand, as she curled up and hid her head within her arms. She felt sick. Something that shouldn't be happening right now, yet it was how she felt right now. Was it because all her worrying was for nothing? Was it because of these pictures? No, of course not. That would be stupid. She felt sick because she assumed all those horrible things about Ruby. She wanted to think this way about her. She wanted to have reasons to push the girl away. She wanted to see flaws in her. If she herself was unable to push people away, she thought that maybe finding flaws in them would help her retain that ability. To be alone.

But that wasn't the case. No. Ruby had her issues, everyone has their issues, but she wasn't what Blake thought of her. She was far better than that. She cared about Blake. And that was, perhaps, the biggest reason that Blake hated Ruby for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I know this is a short chapter and not really that eventful. But I thought this would be a good chapter to break the ice... Well, to get back into things more like. I was afraid to write this chapter, mostly because I always am afraid of writing secondary characters. I have a certain grasp on the main characters, most of them, but the secondary? Eh, that's always a gamble for me. Especially since some of them started having their own appearances in different types of media... Which I won't watch or read because I don't really have time for it.
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying the ongoing new volume! I know I... have mixed feelings towards it. As usual tbh.
> 
> Once more, sorry for the short chapter! I hope to release heftier chapters in the future.


	14. The Black and White Rainbow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juuuust to make sure, if you aren't up to date with the show, don't read the note I left "under" the story. I'd hate to accidentally spoil something for someone.

Blake decided to dedicate the last whole day to rest. Not only did she sleep longer than usual due to her arriving extremely late, but there was also the fact she really wanted to postpone meeting anyone who might know her. Not her, but the old her, if that made sense.

Right now Blake was walking through the streets of the small town. Wanting to remain inconspicuous, she decided to look as conspicuous as possible, as she had the hood of her hoodie firmly pulled over her head. Was she hiding? No, that would be stupid. It was clear as day to anyone that knew her, who she was. She simply didn't want to look at anyone, not notice anyone. The less she saw, the better.

This brought a perfectly good point, why even come back? That was a very good question. Why indeed. If this place had all those memories attached to it if it had all those people she'd rather avoid, why come back? Blake spent her whole previous day pondering this question. The answer was simple, it was merely a transition. She couldn't stay here, there was no point in, not if she was to retain her sanity. The only way she could not go completely crazy would be if she moved somewhere completely different.

Which brought her to this newly found conclusion. Her two options were to go back and face Ruby or simply move somewhere else. She still wasn't sure how to decide between the two. Although the simpler solution was to simply move somewhere else. She never cared about others, why start now? Exactly.

Noticing a soda machine, Blake stopped in front of it. She needed to distract her brain from all those thoughts and there was no better way to do so but apply some extreme sensations onto her brain. What more extreme was there then the sweetness and overly flavored carbonated water? Precisely, none. There was one problem with this idea, she wasn't sure which one to pick. While the assortment wasn't as rich as the ones back in the big city, it still had quite a few names she partially recognized, with flavors she didn't even know were associated with such names.

Perhaps a different perspective, what would Ruby pick? Did Ruby even drink pop? She had to, right? She liked sweet things. Then again she was smart about things in her life, to some degree of course, so maybe she avoided these types of drinks? Or maybe she drank them in moderation? The younger girl never seemed like she'd pick some type of extreme. Blake let out a small sigh, this didn't help. Maybe by color? What was Ruby's favorite color? ...That also was a mystery to Blake. Her name was a color in itself, in a way at least. Perhaps go by that? Red then huh? She hoped it wouldn't be spicy. Could soda even be spicy?

A few coins later, the can would bump down the machine, resting at the bottom, where Blake could extract it. It felt cold, just the right temperature for a can of soda. At least Blake assumed so, as rarely had any in her whole life. As the aluminum pin pierced through the precut opening, the characteristic metallic sound accompanied by the excess gas escaping through the newly found hole.

Raising it towards her lips, she could feel the jumping liquid hit her lips even before she could properly place them against the metal. As soon as the liquid hit her tongue and filled her mouth, she could feel the odd texture followed by the initial weird caramel taste. That was soon replaced by the bite of the carbonation and further overwhelmed with sweetness. Even now it was unbearable, but Blake forced herself to take a few gulps before she moved the can away from her mouth.

"Disgusting." She commented and moved forward. The almost full can land in the nearest trash, as Blake continued her walk, regrets filled her mind. Not even her mind, but her mouth. She hated these type of drinks, they were too sweet, too sickening to her tastebuds. Yet here she was, deciding on a whim to do it. Why? That wasn't clear. She just did these types of things from time to time. Each time it had horrible consequences. She couldn't live her life like this. There had to be a point where something had to end.

Walking around the town and lost in thought, Blake didn't even notice as she walked into one of the stores. She wasn't sure which one it was, as the interior was unfamiliar. There also wasn't anyone behind the cash. Letting out a small sigh, she decided to walk around the store. It was filled with various things, although one thing was for sure, those things weren't edible. Clothing, shoes, accessories, mostly that type of thing. As she walked around, she stopped in front of a rack that had various headbands on display. There was one in particular that caught her attention. With a pair of animal ears, which looked cute. Ruby talked to her about bringing gifts back from her little journey. Nothing big or expensive, just... Just a gift. Blake understood why, it was a sign. At least once on your journey, you thought about the person you got the gift for. You remembered. It wasn't that difficult to figure out. Although Blake wondered if Ruby fully comprehended that with this request of hers.

Reaching out for it, she paused. Was there even a point in getting this? Did she really want to buy something that will only remind her of the same girl she tried to escape from? She would never give it to the girl since her mind was already set on simply moving somewhere else. If anything, it would be there to remind her of the choices she made. Of the possibilities, she had at that point.

"Huh? A customer? Be right with you!" A voice came from what Blake could assume was the back room. Soon the owner of the voice came to sight. "How can I..." There was a pause. "Blake?"

"Ilia."

oooOOOooo

Sitting at an old, wooden chair, Blake glanced around. The room was small but didn't feel claustrophobic. An old chandelier hung above them, illuminating the room. They, since Ilia soon joined her, sat next to a wooden, round table. As old as the chairs they sat on, Blake wondered if they were some kind of furniture set from ages ago. While old, they seemed solid and in much better shape than some of the newer furniture back at her college. "You sure it's alright to close the store like that?" Blake asked, finally focusing her gaze on the other girl.

"It's not like I get that many customers anyway." The other girl retorted with a shrug, sitting down in front of Blake. "Why're you back?"

Blake couldn't help but smile bitterly at how blunt she was. "No reason just wanted to visit."

Ilia just rolled her eyes. "You're running away again." The dark-skinned girl squinted as her gaze cut into Blake like a sharp knife

Blake just shrugged and rumbled her fingers against the wooden surface of the table. She was used to this type of look and Ilia was never someone with particularly intimidating eyes. "I am."

A sigh escaped Ilia's mouth. "Why? No, that's a dumb question. From what this time?" The side of her lip wrinkled up as the girl waited for an answer.

Blake let out a small, albeit empty chuckle. "The same as always, myself."

The freckled girl barked out a laugh. "Since you're back here, does that mean you're chasing your own tail at this point? Thought that's something a dog would do, not a cat." She finished with a smirk.

Blake smiled, even if her smile was minuscule, it was perhaps the first smile that was genuine. She wasn't called a cat for quite some time. "More like it's the tail that's chasing me."

Ilia dropped her smile as quickly as it appeared on her face in the first place. "You know Blake when you left without a word, we all got worried. Admittedly the news came a bit late for me but..." Blake hoped that this conversation would steer away from the heavy topics, at least for a little bit longer. Alas, that was not the case.

Blake lowered her eyes as her voice grew quieter. "I know, even back then I heard what happened. I'm... Sorry. About your parents and everything."

It didn't leave Blake's attention that at least one of Ilia's hands closed into a fist. "Was harsh. Could use your company back then. Your support. You."

Blake couldn't do anything but smile as she raised her gaze. "I guess I'm not a very reliable person." What else was there to say? She was a horrible person. Nothing less, nothing more.

Ilia looked shocked at her words, as her own eyes lowered. "You are, I just... Everything just happened to create a collage of bad. I'm not mad at you for leaving, at least not because of that. I'm just disappointed you haven't said anything. I might have been furious back then but... I understood. With time, I understood."

This was simply an example of why Blake saw herself as the villain of her own life story. Admittedly she didn't think about it that much, but even her old friends were hurt by her actions. Trying to force a small smile, she placed a hand on top of Ilia's. "If things didn't change back then... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just, I wasn't sure what to do. I did the only thing I knew that could help me with my problems. Try and run away from them."

The freckled girl shook her head, moving her hand back, away from Blake's touch. "Did it work? I think I know the answer, but... Again, why are you here, Blake? I thought you'd never come back. I thought I'd never see you again."

Blake grimaced at that. "I met someone. They... Reminded me of what happened back then." She closed her eyes, forcing her mind to remain blank. Or at least stop a certain type of thoughts and memories.

Ilia grew paler after hearing that. "You mean... Did something similar happen to you? Again?"

That kickstarted Blake's imagination in an instant, as she thought about what happened, but with Ruby getting involved in all of it. Being part of it. Or worse, being in the center of it. "What?! No!" With all her will power, Blake stopped herself from smashing her fist against the table. Still, she couldn't help herself from yelling out her answer, as she leaned forward towards the freckled girl. She saw how shocked she was, not at the idea of the same thing happening, but at how Blake reacted. Taking a deep breath, Blake leaned back against the chair, trying to calm herself down. "No, thank goodness not. Just... I don't know. They reminded me of stuff, that's all."

There was a long moment of silence, in which Blake wondered if she went too far. If she crossed a line with how she reacted. Should she excuse herself and leave? Apologize? Ignore it? Wait? She wasn't sure. It was rare for her to act this way. To panic, truly panic. To lose any kind of logic behind her actions or words. Even pretended. As if to bless her, Ilia finally decided to break the silence. "Blake, do you really still blame yourself? It wasn't your fault. It wasn't even a case of you wanting to help, it was a random... A random occurrence, a random thing that happened."

She heard enough of this already to grow completely immune to words like this. At first, it planted a seed of doubt whenever someone said it. As if they were true. Later they angered or simply annoyed her. Now? She was used to hearing that. "It wasn't. We both know it wasn't. If I didn't mingle with things, if I just remained as I was, silently and in the back, nothing would happen."

Once more silence filled the room for a longer period of time. This time Blake simply sat there, trying to fight off any memories from entering her mind. A task that lasted till Ilia growled in anger, smashing her fist against the table. Well, more like forcefully tapping it against the wooden surface. "If there's anyone to blame, it's him." The eyes of the freckled girl moved to the side, her face twisted in annoyance.

Blake chuckled and smiled bitterly. "I know, but he ran away. Disappeared. As much as he's guilty, that doesn't take away my own guilt."

At that, Ilia reached out to poke Blake's chest as if accusing her of something. "No, you were done with him bossing you around. You wanted to do something for yourself. You wanted to do something you thought was good, instead of his empty ideals."

Moving her hand away, Blake shrugged. "And look how that ended up."

At that point, Ilia was pleading with her, which didn't make Blake feel any better about this situation. "Blake, it was an accident."

She simply glanced to the side, it wasn't much more she could do. At this point, Blake was ready to leave."You don't... You wouldn't understand. You weren't there."

Before Blake understood what she said, Ilia stood up from her chair, shouting. "Because my parents died, Blake! Because I had to hold up the reins of my life at least a few years before I was ready! I'd love to be there with you back then, but I couldn't." Closing her eyes, she moved towards the nearest wall, leaning overusing her arm and resting her head against it. "...I wish I could, but I couldn't. I'm sorry I..."

Blake cut her before the girl would blame herself too much. "No, you're right. I'm just being insensitive." Shaking her head, she let out a small sigh. "I wish you were there. I think it would make things different. Better."

At that, Ilia bounced away from the wall and returned to her seat. "This person you're running away from. Tell me about them." The dark-skinned girl squinted her eyes as she gazed intensely into Blake.

While it was good to change the topic without it ending in a sour way, it was how suddenly it happened that made Blake blink in surprise. "They are a... She's younger than me, about two years I think. She's the younger sister of a friend I made... Well, more as she forced me to be her friend." Still, she answered, although now that she could think about it, how much better of a topic this was from the previous? Just slightly.

Ilia leaned against the chair and crossed her arms, smirking. "Forced you huh?"

Blake tilted her head, not sure what the other girl meant by that. "Yeah, I just caved in at one point."

The freckled girl chuckled at that. "Sounds familiar."

It was at that point that Blake's eyes grew wide in understanding. As soon as she caught up with what was suggested, she couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess it does."

Ilia nodded, tapping her finger against her forearm. "So what else?"

Blake's brow raised at that. "What else?"

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Well, yes. Or is that all you know about her? Or can tell about her. Age and that she has a sibling." Raising her own brow at that.

Blake let a tired sigh, resting her elbow against the table. "Right." Soon she rested her head on the same arm. "I'm not sure. She's... Smart, in her own weird way. Also very... What's the word, not naive, but innocent? I would use the word pure but it makes things sound weird. She has her little baggage of issues, but... I'm not sure, she's like a small animal, cute and fun to have around." She smiled at her own comparison, while apt on the surface, even she knew that this wasn't who Ruby really was. It made her seem shallow, which the girl was far from being.

After hearing that, Ilia wore a grin on her face that could be only described using profane language. "Sounds like a keeper, so why run away?"

Blake's brow furrowed at that. "That's not funny." Even if she knew the other girl was joking, Blake had to keep herself from getting angry. If anything, she deserved this type of teasing.

The freckled girl waved her hand dismissively at that. "Sorry, but still, doesn't seem like someone to ran away from."

Covering her face with her hands, Blake groaned. "That's the issue, I'm afraid to bring her bad luck if I stick around. To ruin it for her in one way or the other."

Feeling an arm land on her shoulder, she glanced up to see Ilia leaning over with a warm smile. "Look, just because we called you a black cat back in the day, doesn't mean you really are one." She then glanced around as if afraid that someone would listen in on them. "Besides, between you and me? I think that whole bad luck myth and black cats? All fake."

Even if she smiled, Blake still rolled her eyes at that. "You know that's not the case."

Leaning back against her chair, Ilia nodded. "Sounds like you know her well enough, well long enough to think you know her. Does that mean you know her for a bit now?"

Blake rubbed the back of her neck at that. "Not really, that's the catch. We had a few adventures and at first, I thought I was just helping someone out, but it just made her... Stick to me."

The freckled girl looked as if she just heard a good joke being said at an inappropriate time. "Stick to you. So you don't like her sticking to you?"

That question surprised Blake, as she a bit of panic settle in. "What? No, I mean ... That's not the point! The point is, it just... Happened."

Maybe noticing it or simply knowing enough, Ilia dragged the topic forward without probing for more information. "Well, regardless it seems like you two are friends to some degree, wouldn't that make her... You know, sad that you left? Sounds to me like a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Blake simply shrugged at that. "That's fine. The least bad I could do in her life. She'll be sad for a bit and get better, move on."

The other girl didn't seem satisfied with that response, as she shook her head. "I'd reconsider if I was you." Scratching her cheek, she added. "At least do this much for me."

Rolling her eyes, Blake decided she had enough of this conversation, as she stood up from her chair. "I... Sure, reconsider. I should head home, I'm starting to feel tired."

Following suit, Ilia grabbed the keys to what Blake assumed could be the store itself. "Alright, mind if I walk you home?"

Blake wasn't really happy about that, but at the same time would feel guilty to openly reject the girl's offer. "Is that fine? What about the store?"

Ilia paused and glanced around, only to offer a shrug once her eyes went back to Blake. "It stood here ever since gramps was around, it can wait for an hour or two."

With a heavy sigh, she couldn't do anything more but to admit defeat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one, as I try to offer frequent, to some degree, updates.
> 
> Outside of that, I also wanted to write at least one Christmasy story, as such I wanted to finish this in case I would get stuck at some part and update the next chapter after the new year or something. So there's that.
> 
> I'm not sure which ship I'll write for that, since I have a few ideas (And too little time to write them all) but it'll prolly be one of the "bigger ones" so containing the two characters from the title group. Maybe. At least one.
> 
> And since I like to talk about random stuff in these, let me tell you how little did I care about the "reveal" of Cinder's background in the recent episode. She was sort of interesting at the very start, she got boring super quickly and she still is boring. Now we just know she had a rough life but still did shitty stuff even when shown some "niceness". If it was to justify her actions, it failed. If it was to offer some insight into "why?" ... Well, it sort of just gave us the obvious answer. Nothing cool nor special about it. She's still a boring villain. I know, how dare I.


	15. To Hear Your Voice

The walk was quiet for the most part. Blake wasn't sure if she preferred it this way, or would she rather deal with the alternative. Was she blaming Ilia for asking all those questions? Saying all those things? Of course not. In a way she expected them. If they had a normal chat about the weather before parting each their way? That would make Blake feel... Worse. Like she didn't matter to the other girl. In a way that was part of her worries over her own past. That she wasn't important to anyone. While she would prefer it that way, as it wouldn't leave anyone hurt, she couldn't escape her own nature. Human nature. Where nothing hurts more than being forgotten. "Hey, Blake?"

Hearing Ilia's voice didn't surprise Blake, if anything the surprising part came from how long it took the other girl to break said silence. "Yeah?"

There was another moment of silence, this time obviously shorter before Ilia decided to continue. "You know... You never told me why."

Blake could assume what the other girl meant, but it would be a blind shot since there were many things she did that Ilia could question. "Why what?"

Ilia let out a small sigh. "Well, why do all of it?" That didn't really help Blake to decipher what the question was about. Perhaps sensing that her question was too vague, the freckled girl added. "Why did you bother doing all those things back then?"

It took Blake another second to understand what Ilia was referring to. Once her brain caught up, she could feel her heart rate jump as memories flooded her mind."Because... Because I was alone. Because I always felt like I didn't belong. Like, any friends or group I was in was nothing more than an illusion, a mirage that would disappear with time. I always felt like I was alone. I wanted to stop that because I had the means to do it at the time."

Ilia rubbed her neck at that. "Blake, you know... I mean, you were never alone. I know there were a few jackasses and assholes along the way, but you always had... Friends. People that cared for you."

Blake let out a sigh, although it was one of relief, as the topic changed. "I know. That's why it always felt so awful. Because I knew, yet I always felt so... Out of it. You know, I always wondered why that is." She paused and briefly glanced at the sky. "I think it's from my younger years. I never had any real friends. I bounced between kids, joined by something trivial yet back then it felt so important, a chain that would have us together forever. Yet it always passed the next day. A toy, gadget, snack... It always felt like it would cement something more meaningful, but... It never did."

Ilia chuckled at that. "I hope that wasn't what you thought back when you were younger."

The idea of being that retrospective at such a young age made Blake smile. As if she needed more ways to be weird. "No, it only came to me later. Even then I'm not sure. Maybe it's just in my nature, to always feel like I'm alone. Maybe I should be alone."

There was a sigh that came from the freckled girl. "You know that's not the case. You're like this because you thought you had to be alone."

Blake's brow raised at that. "Like this?"

The other girl looked to the side, clearly troubled. "Well... Yes, like this. Broken." There was a pause, after which Ilia continued. "No, not broken, more like shattered."

Blake was a bit exhausted by all of this at this point. "While I question my own actions today, what are you trying to get done with this? You know you won't convince me."

Ilia sped up a bit, enough to be able to look at her face. "Maybe, but I might convince you to not hurt another person as you did me with your abrupt disappearance."

Blake felt her hands clench into fists. "I do what I must do."

At that Ilia moved in front of Blake and grabbed her arms, stopping her. "And so do I! You have no idea how I felt and even if that girl will feel a fraction of how I felt? It'll be a horrible experience for her."

Frowning in anger, Blake waved her arms free. "Why do you even care?! You don't know her! For all you know I could be lying, making things up." Taking a step back, she yelled at the other girl.

There was no anger on Ilia's face. No annoyance, nothing of that sort. Just worry. "Why?" The freckled girl lowered her eyes. "Because I know you."

"You don't know shit..." Blake growled in anger, only to feel her strength and resolve start to escape her, as she leaned against a nearby lamp post. "Not anymore."

With a shake of her head, Ilia moved closer to her. "I do, just because you decided to wear this depression of yours like a fur coat, that doesn't mean you're not there, the real you. Not the one you like to pretend you are right now. We both know that you care for that girl, you're afraid that she'll get hurt. Otherwise this... This circus wouldn't have a place."

Blake looked at the other girl, desperation behind her amber eyes. "You don't know her."

Ilia just placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "You're right, but I know you. I care for you. I don't want you to make a mistake that'll you regret."

Glancing to the side, Blake whispered, as if her words were some kind of secret. "I already have plenty of those."

Blake felt Ilia's hand land on her cheek, as she was forced to look at the dark-skinned girl who currently wore a small, warm smile. "Maybe, so why add more to the pile? Stop leaving your friends behind, Blake."

Suddenly her phone rang. This caught her off guard, she felt like a deer caught in the headlights. "Blake? I think your phone is...?" Only when she heard Ilia's voice, did she grew aware that she still was on the streets with the other girl besides her. The freckled girl stepped back, looking curiously at her. "You won't answer it?"

It was a question, Blake knew, but it felt like a command given to her. She reached towards her pocket, where she felt the phone vibrate against her fingers. Glancing at who it was, she grew pale. Perhaps even more so than just a second ago. Maybe Ilia figured out who it could be by her reaction, as this time she didn't ask. This time it was a command. "Answer it."

Her hand moved slowly, deep down she hoped that the call would stop, that it took her too long to answer. But no, as her finger finally tapped the screen and slid across it, she moved it towards her ear. "Hello?" She forced that word to leave her dry throat.

_"Hey Blake! Hope I'm not interrupting anything?"_

"She's not." Ilia said firmly, the freckled girl looked into her eyes, not even blinking. "Blake, she's not interrupting anything."

"Y-You're not. You're not interrupting anything, no." Her voice was shaky, she didn't expect this. A phone call from Ruby. She never called.

_"Huh? You sure? You don't really sound... I mean, is everything alright over there?"_

"I'll leave you two be." Ilia smiled as she began to walk back towards the store, turning around for a brief moment. "And Blake? Don't disappear without a word again, alright?" Not waiting for an answer, she simply smiled and continued her walk.

_"Blake?"_

"No, no, it's nothing. I just walked around the town for a bit and I'm a bit out of breath." Blake let out a deep sigh after that. Not that she wanted to act extra exasperated to keep up with her excuse, which... In a way wasn't an excuse, it was the truth. But it sure wasn't the reason why she sounded the way she did just before.

_"Mmm... Fair enough."_

Bouncing off of the lamp post, Blake renewed her walk. "It's my turn to ask, did something happen?"

_"Huh? What do you mean?"_

Was there really nothing to this? It did feel odd for Ruby to do something like this. Maybe it was just another instance of Blake not giving the girl enough credit? "You never called before, it's usually text messages with you."

_"Oh, that... Well..."_

There it was, so something was bothering the younger girl. "Go on."

_"Promise not to laugh?"_

That wasn't something she expected to hear, what could be a reason to both call her and at the same time have this reason be something to laugh at? "Huh, when did I laugh at anything you said or did."

_"Do you really want me to try and remember if you did?"_

That made Blake wonder if she did in fact laugh at something that Ruby said or did. "Not really, unless you want to. So what's bothering you?"

_"It's not that it bothers me just... I wanted to hear your voice, is all."_

Blake couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I see."

_"Blake! You promised you wouldn't laugh."_

She couldn't stop a smug smirk from appearing on her face. "Technically I didn't promise anything."

_"Hmpf..."_

"Besides, I'm not laughing at you. I think it's cute." That was true. It's not just the reason for calling her, but how the girl acted around that reason.

_"You're doing it again! You're being... Patronizing!"_

That small pause made Blake smile, as she imagined Ruby trying hard to remember the right word to use there. "By saying you did something cute? Would cutting the middle man and just calling you cute not be patronizing?" As there was silence for a long moment, Blake considered that perhaps she went too far with her teasing. Realizing that, she decided to say something to make it even between them. "It's nice to hear your voice too, Ruby."

_"Really?"_

Blake had to take a deeper breath to not let out another chuckle, hoping the girl wouldn't catch that. "Mmm... No reason to lie."

_"I can think of a few."_

While the girl seemed to be in a good mood, that wasn't the truth. It couldn't be. Even without anything else but her voice and the way she talked, Blake could gamble on there being a bigger reason the girl called. Or that there was something more, something bigger perhaps. "Something is bothering you, isn't it?"

_"I guess... Maybe."_

There it was, so something was bothering the girl. "Well?"

_"It's just... Yang is acting odd. It's like she's hounding me. Like she wants something from me but she doesn't have... Courage? To ask? I'm not sure. At first, I thought it's just her thinking I'd fall into some kind of depression because you decided to leave for a few days, but that's not it. Something else is bothering her and the way she acts? It's driving me nuts."_

Blake's eyes went wide at that, thank goodness Ruby couldn't see her reaction. All it took was to keep control of her voice. "I see. Maybe leave the house? Go for a walk?"

_"Already on it."_

Blake paused her steps as she glanced around. She could take the way around, if only to make this walk a bit longer and let this talk come to an end naturally, instead of having to cut it short because of not wanting to walk back home with her phone next to her ear. Besides, her mom would ask too many questions. "Really? I'd think I would hear if you were outside." As her brain mainly focused on assessing which route to take, there was part of it that still somehow tried to find an adequate response to Ruby's words.

_"Well, I'm not outside anymore. Remember the game store? The one where we met once?"_

Did Ruby finally found the courage to go inside there? Blake hoped for it to be the case. Although that would make her worry for a different reason. Mainly, if she was inside a store where she hoped to meet someone, why and how would she find time to call her. "I think I do, yes."

_"There's a cafe nearby, I'm currently here... I mean there... I mean... You know what I mean"_

There it was again, and this time Blake couldn't help but chuckle at the younger girl's antics. "I do, I think I know the place. Still, that's quite a walk from your place. Were you planning to visit that game store?"

_"I eh... No, not really. I sort of was annoyed so I started walking and I caught myself heading to your place. Before I realized how fruitless it is and... Well, thought I'd find someplace to sit down."_

Blake moved the phone away and let out a tiny sigh, hoping the distance was enough to hide that. "I see..." Biting her lower lip, Blake decided to ask something quickly, before her brain could decide it was a horrible idea. "Hey, Ruby? Would you be sad if... If I left?"

_"Huh? What? What brought that up?"_

That was a good question, how exactly did that question emerge inside her brain? "Well..." Something related to this place. "...I just met a friend and learned that a lot of people that lived here aren't around anymore."

_"Blake, you're my friend, course I'd be sad if you left!"_

There was yet another chuckle, yet this one was dry, forced. Of course Ruby would miss her. Why would she consider any other option? Blake knew that this girl wasn't deceptive. Not like she was towards people. "Of course, of course. You know, if you want to, you can call me tomorrow as well." Even she herself was surprised at this proposal she just offered to the younger girl, but in the end, it would serve to change the topic. Besides, Ruby could have called on her own anyway, so at least she could feel calmer about it.

_"Really? You sure?"_

That just made Blake roll her eyes, although not without smiling. "Yes, why should I be against that?"

_"I 'unno, what if I call at an inappropriate time or something?"_

There it was, worrying over nothing. "Then I'll not pick up and text you back telling you to call me later? Or that I'll call you when I'm done with whatever I'd be doing."

_"I guess, I should head home soon though... Talk to you tomorrow?"_

Blake smiled at that, at least something to look forward to. "Yeah, I'll hear from you tomorrow. And don't worry about Yang, I'm sure... I'm sure she has her reasons to act the way she does." Even if she already knew what Yang had on her mind, she couldn't blame her.

_"Yeah yeah, I'll try. But no promises!"_

At least the girl seemed to be in a better mood. Or so Blake hoped. "An attempt is good enough for me. Take care, Ruby."

_"You too! Over and out!"_

That made her blink in confusion, what an odd way to cut the call. Shrugging, she put the phone back into her pocket, and with a sigh decided to head home.

oooOOOooo

"I'm home." She announced as she closed the door behind her. She was quickly met with her mom, smiling at her.

She was quickly met with her mom, smiling at her. "Welcome back, how was your walk?"

"It was alright, I met Ilia on my way home, we talked for a bit." Blake shrugged, moving towards the kitchen.

"How is she? Aside from a greeting now and then we haven't had any chance to talk." Blake wasn't sure how to take this piece of information. Perhaps there wasn't much to talk about, since there was a significant age gap between them.

"She's doing okay, I think. Her family's store is still going and she doesn't seem too worried about it." While initially, Blake wanted to make herself some tea, she quickly scratched that idea, instead of grabbing a small bottle of water. "What's for dinner?" That question surprised Blake, as the thought of asking about that came so casually to her, she didn't even consider her words before they left her mouth.

"Whatever would you like?" Her mom asked, sitting at a nearby chair.

That was a good question, what would Blake want? "How about... No, you... I mean, never mind. I'm fine with anything." She shook her head.

"Fish curry?" Blake rolled her eyes as she saw how smug her mom was at that moment. "I knew you'd ask at one point, it was something you liked or did that change?.

"If it's not too big of a problem?" Deep down Blake didn't want it to be a problem, as even she couldn't help herself from yearning a fish dish made by her mom.

Shaking her head, Kali stood up and offered a quick, one-armed hug to Blake. "Of course not, anything for my girl. You can rest up after your walk, I'll call you when it's dinner time, alright?"

Blake felt almost like a child, especially with how excited she felt for something as simple as food. Still, not able to fully hide it, she smiled back. "Alright, thanks, mom!" Not wanting to disturb with the preparation and cooking, as well as actually wanting to rest a bit after her long day, Blake moved towards her room. She had to get some of her energy back before the feast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how am I doing with my shorter but more frequent updates. I hope I'm doing better. If not, hey, nudge me about it, I can always go back to writing longer ones, just keep in mind it'll take more time.
> 
> Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll be able to dish out anything else, especially for this story, before Christmas, so I wanted to wish all of you merry Christmas and all that. If you don't do Christmas? Then happy holidays! And if you don't even have holidays at this time of the year, then I hope you have a bunch of great few days as well as the rest of your life.


End file.
